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| A Quiet Vendetta | 
 enlarge | Author: R.j. Ellory
Publisher: Orion
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £2.83
You Save: £5.16 (65%)
New (23) from £3.05
Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 7586
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 528
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.5
ISBN: 0752877402
EAN: 9780752877402
ASIN: 0752877402
Publication Date: March 8, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
A noisy recommendation! September 18, 2008
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I have now read all five in the R J Ellory portfolio (his sixth is due next month) and not for the first time, I kissed this one as I closed the last page. This man, in my opinion, doesn't know how to write a bad or even mediocre novel. I have never given 5 stars to every book by the same author before, and that would include my personal favourites. I guess Ellory will inevitably slip up sooner or later, but until then I must say that all five of his novels published to date are absolutely top-notch pieces of writing and any one of them could be another reader's first preference. As for A QUIET VENDETTA, the third of the five published, I can only say buy it, borrow it or somehow get your hands on it because it is a captivating story that you just won't want to end.
Some feel that Ellory isn't a crime fiction writer, that his work cannot be pigeon-holed into any specific genre, and while I understand that argument, this story is probably the most criminal of them all. It takes a while before the reader can latch onto who the central character is; at first we assume it to be John Verlaine, a Homicide Detective in New Orleans - but it isn't. Then we figure it to be New York based Special Investigator Ray Hartmann - but again, it isn't. In fact it is more than one hundred pages into the story before we finally know who it's really all about: Ernesto Cabrera Perez, and the narrative switches from third-person to first person as the elderly Perez tells Hartmann his life story. And what a life it was.
Perez is a quite extraordinary man, a man of unquestioning loyalty and devotion to his family. But apart from his own family, at least the one he creates as opposed to his forebears, he is very deeply entrenched in a family of a very different kind. Despite his Cuban blood, Perez is a life-long 'troubleshooter' for the Italian Mafia in various cities across America. When there's trouble, he shoots - and he never misses. Yes, he is the absolutely reliable hit-man in a world of organised crime spanning five decades or more, and for once Ellory not only uses politically significant events in 20th-century American history as a time stamp, as a backdrop to the story; this time his key character is directly involved in it. Perez is responsible for one of the most notorious 'hits' in the chronicles of organised crime. Seeing as this particular murder was never solved in reality, there is an acceptable degree of credibility to this supposedly fictitious thread of the overall story. Despite this, it is actually only of minor relevance in itself, because the backbone of the tale is the kidnapping of the daughter of Louisiana Governor Charles Ducane, and Perez promises Hartmann to divulge her whereabouts once he has fully told his life story. Whether she is alive or dead, he cannot say. So begins a massive FBI-administered hunt for the abducted young girl, but she will not be found until Perez tells them where to look.
It would be easy to pick holes in the novel, and I have to confess that it was quite a while before I realised how special it is, so it does require a little patience to get fully into it. Once there, however, once I was really inside the mind and soul of Ernesto Perez, I never wanted it to end. True, it's the kind of story I favour best in being built around the world of the Mafia in their halcyon years, so I have to admit to being easily persuaded but then again it needs to have been written well and that it most certainly has been. But it is special, even among other Ellory novels, and without doubt it is one of the most engrossing books I have read in recent years. I am sorry to have finished it - you can't beat the first time, can you? - but it's one the very few books in my personal library that I know I will read again. It isn't about the destination, fascinating though that would prove to be, no - it is about the journey, the ruthlessly riveting world that was the life of Ernesto Perez.
Unconditionally recommended.
 Gripping after a stuttering start August 1, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Someone needs to take Ellory on one side and tell him to do something about the openings to his novels. I almost gave up on A Quiet Belief in Angels because the opening chapters were nothing but description and horribly 'poetic'.
This one has a series of false starts: after the murder/kidnap a local New Orleans detective is brought in and you naturally assume he's the chief protagonist, which is a problem, as he isn't at all interesting; only then the FBI arrive and take the case away from him; only then it's passed on again, finally, to the real lead character, Ray Hartmann. Does Ellory not realise how annoying this is?
After the book finally gets going, it's utterly gripping. But the start makes me mark it down to four stars; that and the fact that much of the detail is so sordid. In particular there are gruesome rape scenes which will make any female reader wince. I didn't like it and the strong story doesn't need it.
Even Mafia Henchmen Have Feelings August 1, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I took this book with me on holidays to the Pyrenees and after tramping around mountains during the day, RJ Ellory kept me up until 2am each night, savoring and turning the pages. He could have called this "Even Mafia Henchmen Have Feelings". His main characters are intricate, complex creations. This is where his storytelling talent lies, along with the superbly handled pace he applies and the masterful prose in which he writes his always interesting stories. This is a chilling tale but also speaks of love, lost and found. I unequivocally recommend it (careful though if you need to get up early to walk around mountains, it will disturb your beauty sleep).
Ellory scores again July 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Organised Crime Inspector Ray Hartmann is working the case of his career. The man who can provide all the answers is prepared to divulge all, but in his own good time. And time is something that Hartmann is running short of. In Ernesto Perez, R J Ellory has created a character that will live long in the mind. A loving father and husband, he is also one of the Mob's most effective hitmen and now he has revenge on his mind. The daughter of the Governer of Louisiana is about to pay the price unless Hartmann can get to the truth. Ellory has created another work of the highest standard - wonderful characters, a weaving plot and prose that many poets would give their left hand for. Do yourself a favour buy this today and then go and buy everything else this guy has written.
Awesome! June 17, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Well, not having read the R J Ellory novels in the order that they were written; my first find being "A Quiet Belief in Angels" following it's inclusion in The Richard & Judy book review series, I thought that I would struggle to find a novel to knock AQBIA from the top of my list of favourite reads.
Then along came A Quiet Vendetta which had me hooked from the first page and resulted in my not being able to put it down until I had completed it!
The other good thing about all of the R J Ellory novels; and I can vouch for this from personal experience, is that you can give them as gifts, safe in the knowledge that the recipient is going to get as much enjoyment from them as yourself.
Surely it is only a matter of time before these novels are snapped up by Hollywood for transfer to the big screen, although perhaps we should be cautious of this based on what happened recently with The Davinci Code!
If you are reading this review and debating whether or not to make a purchase, buy it and trust me that you will not be dissapointed.
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