Sniper: A Thriller
Sniper: A Thriller book cover

Sniper: A Thriller

Kindle Edition

Price
$10.99
Publisher
Skyhorse
Publication Date

Description

“Born in Southie and forged by the Marine Corps, there’s no way Boston police detective Mike Houston is going to sit still for a sniper shooting up his city, never mind going after the people he loves. A tense and exciting duel that turns the pages for you.”—Stephen D. Rogers, author of Shot to Death “From its initial horrific crime to its hold-your-breath climax, Sniper is a full-throttle thriller. Hardacker has written a page-turner that feels authentic both technically and in its very human cast of characters. Fans of Stephen Hunter’s Bob Lee Swagger won’t want to miss this outstanding debut!”—Steve Ulfelder, Edgar-nominated author of Shotgun Lullaby "Tense, taut, and genuinely chilling. Hardacker instills this disturbingly sinister tale of vengeance and terror with true Boston heart and authenticity.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan; Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, and Mary Higgins Clark award–winning author of The Wrong Girl “Born in Southie and forged by the Marine Corps, there’s no way Boston police detective Mike Houston is going to sit still for a sniper shooting up his city, never mind going after the people he loves. A tense and exciting duel that turns the pages for you.”—Stephen D. Rogers, author of Shot to Death “From its initial horrific crime to its hold-your-breath climax, Sniper is a full-throttle thriller. Hardacker has written a page-turner that feels authentic both technically and in its very human cast of characters. Fans of Stephen Hunter’s Bob Lee Swagger won’t want to miss this outstanding debut!”—Steve Ulfelder, Edgar-nominated author of Shotgun Lullaby "Tense, taut, and genuinely chilling. Hardacker instills this disturbingly sinister tale of vengeance and terror with true Boston heart and authenticity.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan; Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, and Mary Higgins Clark award–winning author of The Wrong Girl Vaughn C. Hardacker is a veteran of the US Marines who served in Vietnam. He holds degrees from Northern Maine Community College, the University of Maine, and Southern New Hampshire University. He is a member of the New England chapter of the Mystery Writers of America and the International Thriller Writers. His short stories have been published in several anthologies. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Vaughn C. Hardacker is a veteran of the US Marines, and he served in Vietnam. He holds degrees from Northern Maine Community College, the University of Maine, and Southern New Hampshire University. Hardacker is a member of the New England Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America, and his short stories have been published in several anthologies. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • When a sniper kills four people on Boston Common, Boston homicide detective Mike Houston and his partner Anne Bouchard are sent to investigate the case. Amidst the blood and terror, Houston discovers similarities, likenesses—the killer’s positioning, his choice of victims, and his code of ethics—between the crime scene and his own training as a US Marine scout and sniper. And with the staging of the scene set for prime shock value, Houston has to wonder what it is this murderer intends to accomplish.The connection is confirmed in the worst possible way when the sniper strikes again, this time killing Houston’s ex-wife, severing what’s left of the bond between Houston and his estranged daughter, Susie. It’s personal now, and as the death toll rises, Houston and Bouchard will stop at nothing to find the cold-blooded sniper who’s making a mockery of their department. In a final gesture of cat and mouse depravity, the killer kidnaps Susie, luring Houston to an island on a remote lake in Maine for a deadly, sniper-to-sniper showdown.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a
  • New York Times
  • bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(80)
★★★★
25%
(67)
★★★
15%
(40)
★★
7%
(19)
23%
(61)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Great debut novel!

When a book grabs hold of me in the first chapter, keeps that hold throughout the book and leaves me wanting more at the end, that's a 5-star book. This certainly was one of those books. I loved the characters, even some of the villains were loveable...well, likeable, anyway. SNIPER kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.
6 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

read it

good plot and character development. is a little pedanticc about quotations from the marine sniper/scout manual but a very good read
4 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

entertaining

If you know Bob Lee Swagger, and have read "The Most Dangerous Game", you know where this came from. Perhaps the most interesting part is making a Billy Bulger type a sympathetic character.
3 people found this helpful
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It was ok...

The reviews I perused before buying this book were generally positive and definitely swayed me. After completing the book, I can't really agree with many of them - this was pretty average. Not 'bad' but just average, which I suppose you could say might as well amount to the same thing, depending on how picky you are. If you are in any way thinking this is on par with Stephen Hunter's books (in my opinion the summum magnum of sniper themed stories), you will be disappointed.

I thank Mr. Hardacker for his service. I cannot, however, rate this higher than three stars.
2 people found this helpful
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From the beginning you are hooked and drawn further by ...

From the beginning you are hooked and drawn further by the epigraphs that precede each chapter. You are at once learning what makes a sniper and what is successful when you must go to war with these quotes coming from the Art of War and from the actual sniper's handbook used by the military. He also has a command of the underworld dominated a Boston mobster who has scruples. You truly need to read this to appreciate the richly drawn characters and fast paced plot. Hardacker's knowledge of the marines (he served in Vietnam) and his research render this thriller a well thought out and crafted novel. The Fisherman, his second novel featuring the cop duo and the return of some other secondary characters, is greatly anticipated by this reader.
2 people found this helpful
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Good Will Hunting a Marine Sniper . . .

. . . don't like blasting a Vietnam vets work, but holy cow , this book was virtually unreadable. About 1/3 of the way I just speed read to get to the end as fast as I could.

This thing is just riddled with every "Boston" and cop cliche there is. Troubled ex-Marine cop from the mean streets of Dorchester haunted by Middle East combat? Check. bad divorce because he's consumed by his job? Check. Estranged daughter with a grudge? Check. Southie Irish mafia hood with a code? Check. Hot female cop with a thing for hard-bitten partner with a past? Check. The dialogue is like a bad marvel comic version of "The Town". Yeah, it's Boston. We get it. This Houston guy does everything but say "I got the snipahs numbah! Howdaya like them apples!"

Combine that with the worst sniper serial killer in literary history. I mean, before we each chapter, we get a snatch of sniper "stealth' credo prologue, torn from stories of the legendary snipers of the past. Unfortunately, this sniper musta skipped class, because he does everything but send the cop hunting him a daily text message telling him who is and what he's doing. "Hi Mike! You know me from the Marines ! And I'm trolling you". Puh-leze.

Stephen Hunter is the bard of sniper fiction and unfortunately this book just isn't in the same league. It's not even the same sport.

Regardless, I thank Mr. Hardacker for his service.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Trite, unoriginal, and predictable.

This novel is predictable, hackneyed, and was researched via Wikipedia.

The protagonist, Michael Houston, a detective in the Boston Police Department, is being pursued by an ex Marine Sniper he served with in Somalia. The detective is from a poor, hard-scrabble background, divorced and estranged from his wife and only daughter Susie.

Predictable enough? More? Houston is unorthodox in his methods, a tough guy with a soft spot, or so we are told, though there is little evidence of it. His detective partner is beautiful and loves him unreservedly. Houston is often at odds with his boss, and while his detective methods are coarse and lacking sensitivity, he is highly successful.

Houston's marine sniper antagonist has made no effort to conceal he is after Houston, probably for something, "Revenant" like that occured in Somalia. The snipers second attack is the ambush and killing of Houston's ex. The sniper leaves messages at the scenes of his shootings for Houston and calls him on his mobile to assure Houston he is the ultimate target. The sniper tells Houston he knows where Houston's daughter lives and attends school. Given this information, and that the sniper killed Houstons ex, neither Houston, his loyal and beautiful significant other, or the entire Boston Police Department fail to guard, or even monitor, Susie.

Surprisingly Susie is captured by the sniper who tells Houston that to get her back unharmed Houston needs to meet him mano a mano, sniper style in the back woods of Main.

I didn't bother to read the rest.
1 people found this helpful
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A good read.

Author uses story lines that could be compared to the DC sniper and the Winter Hill Gang. Maybe not original ideas. Story held my attention which can be hard to do. Am familiar with the Boston area and Maine. Would recommend to people with law enforcement or military backgrounds.
1 people found this helpful
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It is a page turner however, not all the ...

It is a page turner however, not all the details are all that believable. Can't miss shots at 520 yards and missed shots at less than 100.
1 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Very good book

This book was well researched and written. It was filled with twists and turns and the characters were all very important to this story. Very good book!
1 people found this helpful