Columbus (called for his proficiency Silver Bear) is a professional hitman. Unlike Rain (another famous book character) he is not semi-official assassin (he is not extensively used by this or that government agency). He is a cold blooded professional working for whoever can pay him, made ruthless by his very occupation were trust means betrayal and where affection means Achilles heel. He is not a positive guy he is very negative, sometimes even madly violent man. But he has an avenger-like attitude and mostly aims the criminals.[return][return]Very disturbing voyage into very disturbing world of underground where life is measured only in how much money will it cost to take it away. Another novel with the same main character is expected to be published sometime in 2009/2010. Looking forward to see how Columbus ends up.[return][return]Very interesting story, recommended. ( )

I was finally able to read this book while on vacation. I can't compare this to other books of the genre (like many of the reviews I've read) because I don't usually read these types of books--I read it because I'm a fan of Haas' writing for films such as 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted. All I know is this action/suspense thriller kept me turning the pages, with its present tense POV and straight-for-the-jugular action. It contains many of my favorite things from novels, movies, and TV shows: a dark story about a flawed anti-hero who somehow manages to keep us on his side (even when he's committing acts of atrocity), characters who are true-to-life gray rather than black-and-white, and conflict, conflict, and more conflict.

I can't wait to read the sequel. ( )

Columbus (called for his proficiency Silver Bear) is a professional hitman. Unlike Rain (another famous book character) he is not semi-official assassin (he is not extensively used by this or that government agency). He is a cold blooded professional working for whoever can pay him, made ruthless by his very occupation were trust means betrayal and where affection means Achilles heel. He is not a positive guy he is very negative, sometimes even madly violent man. But he has an avenger-like attitude and mostly aims the criminals.[return][return]Very disturbing voyage into very disturbing world of underground where life is measured only in how much money will it cost to take it away. Another novel with the same main character is expected to be published sometime in 2009/2010. Looking forward to see how Columbus ends up.[return][return]Very interesting story, recommended. ( )

Columbus (called for his proficiency Silver Bear) is a professional hitman. Unlike Rain (another famous book character) he is not semi-official assassin (he is not extensively used by this or that government agency). He is a cold blooded professional working for whoever can pay him, made ruthless by his very occupation were trust means betrayal and where affection means Achilles heel. He is not a positive guy he is very negative, sometimes even madly violent man. But he has an avenger-like attitude and mostly aims the criminals.[return][return]Very disturbing voyage into very disturbing world of underground where life is measured only in how much money will it cost to take it away. Another novel with the same main character is expected to be published sometime in 2009/2010. Looking forward to see how Columbus ends up.[return][return]Very interesting story, recommended. ( )

A quick holiday read Christmas 2010. Not sure if it reflects true life but the least you could say that it reflects the vulnerability of children in (bad) care and that they can easily end up leading dysfunctional lives.