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raymond1274 · 06-20-2006, 01:40 PM

I have something to add to my previous comments about "A Necessary Evil" by Robert Stricklin. Crime thrillers are often focused on people immersed in underworold activities -- mobsters, petty crooks or criminal masterminds who are made to look "cool" a la Quentin Tarantino or Mafia hitmen who are "misunderstood" or portrayed as sympathetic, when, in reality, you wouldn't want to meet up with any of these characters. That's okay, but what's interesting about "A Necessary Evil" is that it presents a head-on collision between two different worlds -- it pits an ordinary, misguided guy yearning for justice against his own contract killer and, in the process, deglamorizes the criminal element, shows the ugliness of violence, and cast doubt on the value of revenge. What makes the story so suspenseful is that it offers a protagonist who's in over his head having to deal with the monster he has created. What makes the story compelling is that he has to risk becoming a monster himself. Thankfully, the sobering climax is as haunting as it is believable.

06-20-2006, 01:40 PM	#9 (permalink)
raymond1274 Noogle Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	P.S. I have something to add to my previous comments about "A Necessary Evil" by Robert Stricklin. Crime thrillers are often focused on people immersed in underworold activities -- mobsters, petty crooks or criminal masterminds who are made to look "cool" a la Quentin Tarantino or Mafia hitmen who are "misunderstood" or portrayed as sympathetic, when, in reality, you wouldn't want to meet up with any of these characters. That's okay, but what's interesting about "A Necessary Evil" is that it presents a head-on collision between two different worlds -- it pits an ordinary, misguided guy yearning for justice against his own contract killer and, in the process, deglamorizes the criminal element, shows the ugliness of violence, and cast doubt on the value of revenge. What makes the story so suspenseful is that it offers a protagonist who's in over his head having to deal with the monster he has created. What makes the story compelling is that he has to risk becoming a monster himself. Thankfully, the sobering climax is as haunting as it is believable.