Jackknife by William W. Johnstone

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

‘Jacknife’ is just plain fun! A well written battle through nutty folks who think they will take over the world one large over-sized department store at a time.

The Johnstone Clan seems to have connected a ghostwriter of earlier thrillers to this book as it reads much like a few others with similar characters. Can’t recall if I’ve written this before, but there is a strong flavor of Vince Flynn to the point that I wonder if he was involved with this book. One way to tell is if the sound of these thrillers slips from this level, with Flynn now gone.

The writing is strong. Nowhere near the writing of other recent books I’ve read, such as Colin Dexter, Marjorie Rawlings or Edmund Crispin. But the engagement is concrete and the need to propell forward to find out what happens next and the want to read more like it, transcends the better writing. This is great storytelling.

Troubles with the book: Plenty seems unbelievable. There is a definite political slant (That is fine with me). Still, if a reader can enjoy reading this much, then the weakness is not that, but part of the whole that is the entertainment of great storytelling, if I may repeat myself and underscore what the Johnstone Clan excels at.

As is true in the Clan set, the characters are outstanding in their written definitions. The writer(s) and editor(s) involved deserve continued applause. The Hiram Stackhouse character is a hoot.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 8 of 10.

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