The Kill Clause

The plot takes off like a rocket from page one and never loses steam. The story revolves around the brutal murder of the young daughter of law enforcement officers, Tim and Dray Rackley. As the Rackley's deal with a parent's greatest nightmare, things become even worse when the alleged murderer is set free because of a violation of his 4th Amendment rights during his arrest. Tim is so distraught over this turn of events, that he considers taking the law into his own hands. As he comtemplates this action, Tim is approached by an unusual band of vigilantes known as The Commission. Each member of The Commission has suffered a great personal loss along the lines of the Rackleys. And, in each of their cases as well, the perpertrator has gone show more free because of some legal technicality. The story keeps going at a fast pace as the body count builds and culminates in an action packed climax.

Although it's an interesting story line, it wasn't as riveting as I expected. The idea of a decorated law enforcment officer doing something like this was very disturbing to me. show less

Not a bad book. When it first got going, I didn't think it was all too original, but then there were a few twists and turns that made the book better than expected.

The seven year-old daughter of US Marshal Tim Rackley and his LA cop wife Dray is brutally slain and Tim is given the opportunity by his cop friends to kill the guy responsible. He decides against it. Then Kindell, the murderer, goes free on a technicality. Rackley is recruited by a group called The Commission to be point man to go after heinous criminals who get away on technicalities. The carrot on the end of the stick is another shot at Kindell. This is where I roll my eyes and think, "The Star Chamber."

But things go a bit differently, which strengthens the plot show more considerably. I think Hurwitz is a good writer; he really illustrated the pain and anguish the Rackleys experienced due to the loss of their little girl.

"The Kill Clause" is nothing spectacular, but it's not a bad read to pass the time. show less

It's got the typical mystery/thriller earmarks; let's run some of them down. The main character, Tim Rackley, is in law enforcement (deputy US marshal). He's got a tough-sounding nickname (Rack) that only his friends are allowed to use. In thsi one, we get a sort of two-for-one deal because his wife Andrea (Dray) is also a deputy, in the sheriff's department. Rackley has murky family issues in his past (with his father) and reacts badly to being called Timmy. A brutal murder takes place in the opening pages; in this case, the victim is the Rackleys' young daughter Ginny. Some questionable tactics by the marshals, plus the perpetrator going free, both combined with the department's unwillingness to back Rackley on an incident that blows show more up in the press results in him going rogue. So, you know, he's a good guy on the wrong side of the law now.

He gets involved with a group of people calling themselves "The Commission," whose charter is to kill some people who have evaded justice for their crimes based on legal technicalities or other failures of the system. They will research all of this, give them a fair shake based on the evidence, and then decide whether or not to kill them. Rackley will be their executioner. You can probably guess most of what goes on after that, but often the enjoyment is in how a particular author gets from point A to point B, not in figuring out where point B is. I thought it was a decent book, but didn't particularly make me want to read more in the series (I can't remember the last time I was drawn in by a series, so you may want to take that with a grain of salt).

Recommended for: fans of Justified, people to whom vigilante justice seems like a good idea. show less

Gregg Hurwitz is my go-to author when looking for an easy, quick read. His characters are believable even though the situations and plotline might not be.
The main character "Rack" joins a vigilante group after the suspect murderer of his daughter was released due to legality. Being a former U.S. Marshall, he has all the skillset to complete one task. He becomes suspicious of the group and begins to backpedal and investigate the individuals in the group. With both the police force and the group after him, he struggles to survive. The rest is for you to read and enjoy.

Very Good! I recalled scenes of Hal Holbrook in Star Chamber all throughout the book. Vigilante justice with some interesting twists. While I did predict a bit of the outcome early on, there were enought twists and sub plots, along with a fast pace that kept me interested to the end.

In The Kill Clause, a group of ex-cops and others form a vigilante execution squad. They find where injustices have been performed and the perps that have been able to escape justice from the system, and execute their own justice. They recruit Tim Rackley, a county sheriff and former US Marshall and Special Forces operative who recently lost his own child in a homicide. Rackley agrees and begins to take out some of these targets. He’s disgusted by the Mastersons, a pair of brothers who are also part of the group, who seem to be doing this simply to satisfy their own blood lust. Rackley involves the kill clause, which dissolves the group, and then has to hunt down the Mastersons to stop them on their trail of murder.

This novel is fast show more pace and visceral, qualities that I enjoy. On the down side, I thought the writing was mediocre and the story line was a bit farfetched. It was enjoyable to a certain degree, but not a novel that is going to resonate long after you’ve read it. Although, I would recommend reading it, this isn’t exactly a great novel.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street show less

Tim Rackley, a U.S. marshal, quits to pursue the kidnapper/murderer of his young daughter. He is recruited by a group to review cases where justice did not prevail, with solving his daughter's case at the end as bait. However, his moral compass prevents him from completing the executions.