Book Review: Icarus

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Icarus     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Russell Andrews
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller
Doubleday, Jul 2001, $26.95, 416 pp.

In 1969, ten-year old Jack Keller watched the crazy Reggie Ivers toss his mother Joan out the window. Only the reaction of family friend Dom Bertolini kept Jack from following his mother out the seventh story Manhattan window.

Several decades later, Jack and his beloved wife Caroline run a chain of restaurants around the world. The couple is in Charlottesville, Virginia for the newest opening of Jack’s when disaster strikes. During the opening a brawl breaks out. At the same time an unknown assailant kills Caroline and severely injures Jack. As the restaurateur slowly heals, he realizes that the killer is not finished with him because the culprit finished his wife’s murder by tossing her out the window. Jack knows the killer will be back to terminate him this time.

ICARUS is an exciting thriller that touches the reader’s soul, a rarity for this genre. Russell Andrews slowly simmers the plot so that the audience comes to care for Caroline and Jack. This leads to readers mourning Caroline’s death and rooting for Jack to recover in order to take out the killer. Mr. Andrews provides quite a good tale even if the female death count seems high.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner