Nobody's Safe

Rating:
Summary: "IT TAKES A THIEF" MEETS "THE X-FILES"!
Review: Like most of the people who have already reviewed NOBODY'S SAFE by Richard Steinberg, I purchased it because I enjoyed his first novel, THE GEMINI MAN. Unlike most of the reviewers, however, I had the advantage of having read the reviews beforehand, so at least I knew what to expect when I bought the book. This certainly helped prepare me for the last third of the novel. NOBODY'S SAFE is the story of the world's greatest cat burglar, Gregory Picaro. There's no domicile, building, facility of any kind, or safe that he can't get into. He is the best! When Picaro, against his better judgment, decides to break into the penhouse apartment of Jack Kerry, he gets more than he bargained for. Kerry and his girlfriend arrive back home unexpectedly while our master thief is still busy getting into one of the two safes hidden in the apartment. He's not worried about the couple. He simply continues his work while they have drinks and then make love out in the living room. It's when the second party arrives unannounced that Picaro decides to hide in the bedroom closet. The new party of people consists of retired government employee, Kilbourne, and two assassins. They ask Kerry a few questions, then cold-bloodedly kill the couple, and begin their search of the apartment for any information that deals with an assignment both Kilbourne and Kerry were involved in over fifty years ago. Not finding anything in the initial ransacking of the place, the assassins decide that it might be best if they go ahead and dispose of the two dead people, then come back and do a more thorough search. While they are gone, Picaro comes out of hiding and breaks into the second safe, finding what the killers were after. Unfortunately, before he can get safely out of the apartment, the killers come back and see him. He still does the impossible and escapes, but now Kilbourne knows that there is a witness to the murders...a witness who also happens to have some very valuable papers. From that point on, Picaro is literally running for his life. The government will stop at nothing to kill him and retrieve the stolen papers. What is this valuable information, and why are so many people afraid of it becoming public knowledge? Well, it has to do with an incident that happened in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 and the government cover-up which followed. What Kilbourne and his organization doesn't realize, until it's too late, is that Picaro won't be a victim for anybody. He's a fighter, and he will kill if necessary. Hurt him or one of his friends, and he'll come after you with a vengeance. The first two-thirds of NOBODY'S SAFE is some of the best writing I've ever read in an action/thriller/suspense novel. It had me sitting on the edge of my seat for several hours. There are enough twists and turns to keep your head spinning as you vainly attempt to guess where the story is headed. The last third of the book, however, drifts somewhat into "la-la land". Thankfully, because I knew what to expect (due to the book reviews)and am somewhat familiar with Area 51 here in Nevada, I found myself enjoying Picaro's encounter with Joe and Max. That doesn't mean that I bought the scenario, only that I enjoyed reading it. You can shake your head at an author's audacity, but still get caught up in the momentum of the story telling. The book, as a whole, is definitely worth buying. The reason is Gregory Picaro. He's simply a great character, and I hope Mr. Steinberg will bring him back in a future novel. But please, no more aliens!

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre
Review: Nobody's Safe, a book ultimately centering around some mysterious secret that the U.S. government has been protecting at all costs since World War II, starts out with a bang. The first several chapters are brilliant, involving a master thief strutting his stuff while we can only gape in wonder. From there on, however, Nobody's Safe becomes confusing, distant, and poorly written -- all while remaining fast paced. To the very end, this book has few paragraphs longer than four or five sentences and will not turn you off with a lack of white space. However, be warned ... the secret for which you must wade through some three hundred pages to reach does NOT live up to its expectations.

On the whole, a good enough read that I tore straight through the first half. A bad enough read that I only skimmed the last half.

On a second note, I just noticed that this book appears to no longer be in print. Perhaps that reviews it better than any words I have used.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: Reading some of the negative reviews really made me stop and think, as I really enjoyed reading this book.

The only thing I can think of is that the people who didn't like this book were not into Sci-Fi. The cover makes it seem like its a straight-up suspense/thriller novel (which it is). But the latter part of the book adds Sci-Fi to the mix. Those who do not think favorably about Sci-Fi would most likely not enjoy it.

As a person who enjoys good Sci-Fi, I really enjoyed this book. There are some good/unexpected twists in the story as well. When I was done reading, I went looking for the sequel, and hoping they make a movie out of the story (it definately ends with a good setup for a series of stories).

If you are a Sci-Fi fan, get this book. If you are not, you most likely won't enjoy the last half of it. In any case, its good writing and a good story (better than I or the negative reviewers could write).