A Penny for the Hangman

Karen Tyler is offered the journalistic opportunity of a lifetime. Fifty years ago, two teenage boys brutally murdered their parents and housekeeper. Now, someone is willing to talk about what really happened that night, leading Karen to travel to an isolated island in search of the truth.

I loved the use of mixed-media here. Savage uses journal entries, magazine articles, trial and disc transcripts, and e-mails to tell one eerie, suspenseful story. The back and forth between the immediate story and the documents creates incredible tension.

And this is definitely one suspenseful story. It's one of those that you think about when you're not reading, trying to puzzle out what is really going on. No one and nothing are what they seem, and show more when all is revealed, the revelation packs a real punch.

I am also in general always a fan of mysteries set on isolated islands, such as And Then There Were None (one of my top three books of all time).

I did feel this book suffered a bit from pacing. The very beginning was really intriguing, and then things got a little slow for a bit. The ending also seemed a little oddly paced, some parts rushed, some parts a little too slow.

I would definitely recommend this book. It's really clever and intriguing, and once the story grabs hold of you, it won't let go. show less

A most horrific crime took place March 13, 1959 (Friday the 13th). They brutally killed their parents. They were teenagers. Rodney and Wulf served their time in medium security prisons. Now, one of them is preparing a celebration — their fifty year anniversary — March 13, 2009 (Friday the 13th).

The new movie ‘Bad Boys’ is the true story of the two teen boys who killed their parents in the Virgin Islands fifty years prior. It is getting ready to debut on March 13, 2009 to coordinate with the golden anniversary of the killings. According to the movie industry research, it’s going to be a huge success.

Karen Tyler works for Visions an entertainment magazine in New York. She’s been receiving phone calls from someone leading her show more to believe he is one of the original ‘bad boys’. He wants to meet her in the Virgin Islands where he’ll set the story straight. The reporter side of her wants to dig in and grab this opportunity, especially with the movie coming up. Her boss thinks this is a great idea. She won’t meet him alone, after all. She’ll have a photographer to accompany her.

Jim O’Brien was Karen’s boyfriend. They were living together and even talking about marriage. In 2014, he’s telling Karen’s story.

This is one of the most fascinating mysteries I’ve ever read. It is not based on any real story; it is a work of fiction. The novel actually splinters the story by using old news articles; diaries; journals; and snippets of a book published by Lieutenant Faison who had been involved in the 1959 case. When I first realized the format, I feared it would be difficult to follow, but it wasn’t. It was all very plain; all very realistic; and all very pulled together at the end. It was ‘sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat’; ‘eyes-wide-open’; and ‘heart-pounding’ engaging! OK – I did have one issue with a snippet of the novel where Karen is anticipating her writing after she interviews whichever bad boy this was:

“It would be a subjective, first-person version of a well-known incident, but she was hoping it would also be more than that, a tale of long-ago passion and violence. And love—she was sure there had been love.”

Love? Are you serious? How much of a romantic would you have to be in order to think that love had been a part of the human butchering the two boys had done in 1959? Karen’s romanticizing aside, I rated the novel at 4.5 out of 5. show less

An intriguing story told in a fascinating fashion, using diary extracts, details from books written about the murders, even a reference to a speech made by President Eisenhower that had me scurrying to verify its contents, in addition to the narrative. A small part of that narrative is in the first person, but it wasn’t until the very end of the book that it became apparent why that was done.

Everything is definitely not all that it seems in this story. At first it comes across as mysterious, seemingly straightforward, but the author has woven in a number of interesting twists that can catch the reader by surprise. I found it difficult to put aside because the plot was always moving on and felt the need to find out what was really show more taking place. It is based on revenge, but it is the revenge of a number of people that is involved, and quite rightly it is the almost righteous revenge, revealed at the very end of the novel, that wins out.

I had never heard of Tom Savage before, but I will be looking for more of his works. Highly recommended for thriller and mystery lovers. show less

Remember Lyle and Eric Menendez? Well, this is a story much like theirs. Rodney and Wulf are boyhood friends who decide to kill both of their parents while they are having a dinner party. Rodney and Wulf are convicted and go to prison, but there is much more to this story than anyone knows. Karen, a New York City journalist, has received a phone call near the 50th anniversary of the killings suggesting that she will meet someone very close to these murders. Could it be Rodney or Wulf? Karen heads down to the Virgin Islands, the site of the murders, to learn more about the mystery.

First, I love that this novel is set in the Virgin Islands. The way Savage describes the landscape makes me want to hop the next flight to spend a week at the show more Reef. I loved Tom Savage's earlier books and wondered if he would ever make another appearance. Image my surprise when I found this one on NetGalley! Super glad he is back and really loved this mystery. Definitely one to pick up when it comes out in October. show less

The Master of Mystery has returned. After an absence of 14 years, Tom Savage has brought us another tale of madness and murder with enough twists to rival a pretzel factory. I love this author and his talent for creating unrelenting suspense and superb characterizations. Please Sir, I want some more. Don't ever go away again,the Genre was lonely without you.

I love discovering new-to-me authors and bestselling author Tom Savage is one of those. I don’t know why I haven’t found this author before but I’m glad I’ve corrected that oversight. His latest thriller is A Penny For The Hangman, which is set in the Virgin Islands where he grew up. If you like fast-paced nail-biting thrillers then you’ll definitely want to find out more about this one. It’s perfect for a Halloween month read, so check out the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=7766.

This book revolves around a murder that happened 50 years ago on an island in the Caribbean. It is the story of a young reporter who gets the opportunity to interview someone who was involved with the crime. Events spiral out of her control and we are kept on the edge of our seats wondering what is going to happen.
This is a great book! Recommended read.
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review from Netgalley.