Books › The Good Guy
The Good Guy
First published 2007 · 512 pages
A relentless, adrenaline-fueled sprint where an ordinary man is thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse.
What it feels like
This propulsive thriller grabs you by the collar in the very first chapter and refuses to let go. It feels like a cinematic sprint, steeped in a mood of escalating paranoia and high-stakes tension. The narrative thrives on the classic Hitchcockian trope of the wrong man in the wrong place, but infuses it with a deeply earnest exploration of moral duty and everyday courage. The prose is tightly coiled and accessible, driving the action forward while pausing just long enough to let the chilling reality of the antagonist sink in. It is a perfect read for those who devour everyman thrillers, offering a satisfying emotional arc that moves from sudden, disorienting peril to a triumphant, hard-won heroism.
- Mood
- tense
- paranoid
- adrenaline-fueled
- gritty
- Tone
- earnest
- urgent
- suspenseful
- moralistic
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances · moral responsibility · the nature of evil · courage under fire · mistaken identity
- The writing
- Accessible, cinematic, and tightly wound, blending rapid-fire action with earnest philosophical musings on good and evil.
- The arc
- From sudden, disorienting shock to a desperate, adrenaline-fueled struggle, culminating in a hard-won sense of heroic purpose.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave relentless, everyman thrillers where ordinary people are forced to confront pure, unstoppable malice.
Content notes
- gun violence
- murder
- stalking
- police corruption
- peril
About the book
Timothy Carrier, having a beer after work at his friend's tavern, enjoys drawing eccentric customers into amusing conversations. But the jittery man who sits next to him tonight has mistaken Tim for someone very different--and passes to him a manila envelope full of cash."Ten thousand now. You get the rest when she's gone."The stranger walks out, leaving a photo of the pretty woman marked for death, and her address. But things are about to get worse. In minutes another stranger sits next to Tim. This one is a cold-blooded killer who believes Tim is the man who has hired him.Thinking fast, Tim says, "I've had a change of heart. You get ten thousand--for doing nothing. Call it a no-kill fee." He keeps the photo and gives the money to the hired killer. And when Tim secretly follows the man out of the tavern, he gets a further shock: the hired killer is a cop.Suddenly, Tim Carrier, an ordinary guy, is at the center of a mystery of extraordinary proportions, the one man who can save an innocent life and stop a killer far more powerful than any cop...and as relentless as evil incarnate. But first Tim must discover within himself the capacity for selflessness, endurance, and courage that can turn even an ordinary man into a hero, inner resources that will transform his idea of who he is and what it takes to be The Good Guy.From the Hardcover edition.
Description from Open Library.
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