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Articles • Books
The Tower
By Gregg A. Hurwitz
Published by: Simon & Schuster
This review written by
Amy Goldman
A Very Effective Writer
I want to say before I start this review, that there is nothing cool about
serial killers…or any other killers, for that matter. I believe serial
killers are given entirely too much celebrity status attention and that the
victims are too overlooked. However, I also think that a distinction can be
made between a good book or movie and a sensationalistic book or movie. I do
not have a problem with books or movies…I grew up watching Friday, the 13th
and A Nightmare on Elm Street (although I would, these days call those
movies sensationalistic). The difference lies in the way the author or
screenwriter presents his or her story. That said, on with the review…felt
like legal mumbo jumbo for a moment!
The Tower…a novel by Gregg Hurwitz. Hmmm…I haven't reviewed any nonfiction
books yet…and he's a first time author. What the hell, I figured…it's been
awhile since I've read one of 'those' types of books. I responded to his
publicist that I would review the book.
The story line is basically this: The FBI hire Jade Marlow, also known as
'the Tracker' to hunt down an extremely intelligent multiple-murderer (who
I'd consider a serial killer) Allander Atlasia who has escaped a prison
named the Tower, that is like Alcatraz. Marlow, a former FBI agent himself,
is extremely volatile, but no one tracks killers like Marlow. The story
evolves into a battle of wits between Marlow and Atlasia. Each character is
inside the other's mind, each trying to prove to the other that he is in
control of the situation. I know…sounds a bit familiar. But wait! Do not
make a judgment yet, because if you do, and you choose to skip this book,
you'll be missing a great read.
There's a couple of ways that you can tell if a book is good and the writer
is an effective one. Just ask yourself some questions. Did you think about
it even when you weren't reading it? Did you think about the characters and
the plot between reading sessions? Were you trying to figure out what the
characters were going to do next? If you did, the author did a good job-he
or she got you thinking…got into your mind. That's what Hurwitz has done
with the Tower.
The Tower is an excellent book. It's easy to read and follow. I found myself
not wanting to stop reading until it was done. The author has done a
fantastic job of creating characters that you may not necessarily relate to,
but at least understand what motivates them. He, Hurwitz, drops hints,
alludes to things…but a little at a time. You kind of get to figure things
out for yourself a bit, but it's not hard to do. He keeps you asking: what's
next?
As far as violence in the book, yes, there is some violence. However, all in
all, I think Hurwitz kept it minimal. I was a little put off by one scene
near the beginning of the book, but that, too, was good because it means
that he wrote it well. After that, though, he did not dwell on gory scenes.
The descriptions were clear enough so that you knew what was happening, yet
not so horrible that you put the book down. Now, I should not apply that to
everyone because some people can't stand any type of details. If that's the
case, you should not even be reading from this category of writing (listed
as Murderer-Fiction). If you normally read things like Dean Koontz, for
example, then this is tame…and surely choirboy stuff compared to Steven
King.
I would most certainly suggest this book to my friends and yes, it's worth
the money. The Tower is well written, as well as well researched (though he
put some of his own twists on it-but that's OK because it is a fiction
book).
There is one major problem I see for Hurwitz though…after this, he's going
to have a tough time topping the Tower. Should be interesting to see what,
if anything, he comes up with next.
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