Hard Freeze

by Dan Simmons Narrated by Fred Filbrich

Overview

Revenge has never been served so cold.

Joe Kurtz, former investigator and convicted felon, is on parole. But the years he spent in Attica didn't make his old haunts any safer. Back on the streets of Buffalo, he's already marked by a local Mafia don.

As if watching his back weren't enough work, Kurtz has also been hired by a gravely ill John Frears, whose daughter met a grisly fate at the hands of a murderer. Frears wants one thing before he dies: for Kurtz to find the fiend that the authorities couldn't. But the calculating killer -- a master at changing identities -- has a little unfinished business of his own. Dodging a contract on his head and tracking a serial killer on the loose, Kurtz plunges headfirst into the icy waters of revenge as both victim and avenger.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Hannibal Lecter meets the Godfather in multitalented Simmons's hard, brutal crime thriller, set in Buffalo, N.Y., and second in the series after Hardcase (2001). Ex-private eye Kurtz, recently released from prison after serving 11 years for killing the murderers of his beautiful partner, Samantha Fielding, finds himself stalked by the Attica Three Stooges Moe, Larry and Curly. After a bloody shootout that leaves one Stooge dead, Kurtz takes Curly for a ride in a speeding car and says: "You can take one in the head.... Then I dump you. You can take one in the belly, maybe we crash. Or you can take a chance and tuck and roll. Plus, there's some snow out there. Probably as soft as a goosedown pillow." Exit Curly. Kurtz soon learns that he's been marked for death by a local Mafia don and that the man actually responsible for Samantha's death is alive and well. And that's just for starters. Meanwhile, Kurtz is approached by John Wellington Frears, a world-famous violinist dying of colon cancer, to find his daughter's murderer a serial child-killer so adept at changing identities he could give lessons to Ferdinand Demara, the Great Impostor. Violent, fast-paced, with a high body count and plenty of sanguinary and pyrotechnic detail, this high-octane thriller should please both hard-boiled addicts and Simmons devotees. Whatever qualms one may have about Kurtz surely one of the darkest, most amoral protagonists of recent crime fiction it's Simmons at his hard-driving best. (Aug. 9) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Killings in wintry Buffalo leave Jackson Pollock-like splatters in the snow. That's just one of the many lessons to be learned from Simmons's very hard-edged mystery featuring Joe Kurtz. Picking up where 2001's Hardcase ended, Kurtz is still loose in the heart of darkness that's Buffalo in the winter. He's still smarting from his stint in Attica and finds himself at the center of a mob free-for-all. If that weren't enough to keep things interesting, he's contacted by a concert violinist whose wife and daughter were murdered 20 years ago; the violinist thinks he saw the murderer at the airport. In trying to unravel that case, Kurtz uncovers a serial rapist/murderer who sees himself as the Great Imposter and whose latest incarnation is as a police captain. The finish, when it comes, is predictably fast and furious, with glints of dark humor that sparkle nicely amidst the Buffalo gloom. The multifaceted Simmons has earned both a Hugo (sf) and a Bram Stoker (mystery/horror) award, and this straight-ahead, no-frills read is sure to garner enthusiasm among fans of Richard Stark and Joe Gores. Recommended for all public libraries. Bob Lunn, Kansas City P.L., MO

From the Publisher

"Simmons at his hard-driving best...[A] high-octane thriller."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Simmons' novel uncoils into a deliciously brutal chess game between a chameleon serial killer and ex-con PI Kurtz...action scenes that'll leave your hands clammy on the page."—Booklist

"Hard Freeze makes for great escapist reading...get ready to dip into a terrific, take-no-prisoners read."—Denver Post

"Readers looking for two-fisted, take-no-prisoners action should pick up a copy."—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"A bristling climax...Kurtz makes a riveting protagonist for the noir-is-beautiful crowd."—Kirkus (starred review)

"In addition to crafting one of the least likeable protagonists you'll ever find yourself rooting for... [Simmons] writes action scenes that'll leave your hands clammy on the page."—Booklist

"This straight-ahead, no-frills read is sure to garner enthusiasm among fans of Richard Stark."—Library Journal

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170233830
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	04/28/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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