Customer Reviews
Ellory scores again - By: Mr. Michael Malone, 24 Jul 2008 
Organised Crime Inspector Ray Hartmann is working the case of his career. The man who can provide alll the answers is prepared to divulge alll, but in his own good time. And time is something that Hartmann is running short of. In Ernesto Perez, R J Ellory has created a character that will live long in the mind. A loving father & husband, he is also one of the Mob's most effective hitmen & now he has revenge on his mind. The daughter of the Governer of Louisiana is about to pay the price unless Hartmann can get to the truth. Ellory has created another work of the highest standard - wonderful characters, a weaving plot & prose that many poets would give their left hand for. Do yourself a favour buy this today & then go & buy everything else this guy has written.
Awesome! - By: Peter Saint, 17 Jun 2008 Well, not having read the R J Ellory novels in the order that they were written; my first find being "A Quiet Belief in Angels" following it's inclusion in The Richard & Judy book review series, I thought that I would struggle to find a novel to knock AQBIA from the top of my list of favourite reads.
Then along came A Quiet Vendetta which had me hooked from the first page & resulted in my not being able to put it down until I had completed it!
The other good thing about alll of the R J Ellory novels; & I can vouch for this from personal experience, is that you can give them as gifts, safe in the knowledge that the recipient is going to get as much enjoyment from them as yourself.
Surely it is only a matter of time before these novels are snapped up by Hollywood for transfer to the big screen, although perhaps we should be cautious of this based on what happened recently with The Davinci Code!
If you are reading this review & debating whether or not to make a purchase, buy it & trust me that you will not be dissapointed.
An Amazing Achievement - By: Adam Bird, 11 Jun 2008 Having read A Quiet Belief in Angels & being totallly mesmerised by my experience I decided to purchase the remaining books on Ellory's bibliography. This isn't something that I have done before, but reading through the reviews I was at a loss as to which book to purchase next.
Having read in order, Candlemoth & Ghostheart, which again are brilliant in there own right I settled down with A Quiet Vendetta with great expectations.
Even with alll the hype that I managed to build alll by myself I was simple blown away by the shear scale of the novel & the characters which are so lifelike that it has been impossible to forget them even two months after finishing the book.
As someone mentioned, maybe here, or on another review, Ernesto Perez, the main character & the perpetrator of such evil is surprisingly lovable at the same time, & you find yourself feeling some kind of sympathy to his plight.
Ellory is a master story teller, each of his books has an amazing poetical feel to them & you cannot but help to take each story to heart & immerse yourself into the worlds in which he creates.
If you haven't read any of Ellory's books yet, don't read this one first, start with Candlemoth & read them in order. But do read this one - it is a startling adventure that will live with you long after you have turned the very last page.
A new novel is due out in October, one in which I am highly anticipating. With the commercial success of A Quiet Belief in Angels I am hoping that more people will become familiar with Ellory's work. With more people experiencing 500 pages of pure literacy genius like this one Ellory deserves alll the success & plaudits that come his way.
A quiet masterpiece - By: AJ, 27 May 2008 This is a very clever novel. By combining third person & first person narrative, there are TWO central characters. One: the assasin is well drawn, credible - even at times likeable - & yet no punches are pulled in the accounts of his actions. Two: the Cop. He is flawed, subtly astute, wounded by life, & yet asks for no sympathy from the reader. No overwrough self pity laboured here!
The two characters fit together like 'hand in glove', making this an accessible & easy to read novel. There's the central focus of a kidnapped girl. But although relevant, unlike so many crime novels, it's not overbearing. It doesn't dominate.
OUTSTANDING - By: M. Whitfield, 02 May 2008 After reading both `Candlemoth' & `Ghost Heart' by R.J. Ellory & enjoying them both immensely, I was reallly looking forward to his next `human drama'. Well I have just finished reading `A Quiet Vendetta' & I suppose I could sum it up in one word, `outstanding'. Although in truth I think it is reallly better than outstanding.
I felt that I was involved in two separate lives, my own real life, & (every time I picked the book up) in someone else's life. I almost believe that I have reallly visited the many places that are superbly described in such detail. I also felt that I reallly knew each of the brilliant characters so well, again so wonderfully described.
I have to say, when I got down to the last couple of chapters, I didn't feel as though I wanted to continue, for two reasons. Firstly, I didn't want the story to end, like when you're enjoying a reallly good film, you just want it to go on & on & never end. Secondly, I was afraid that the ending may not be the one I was hoping for.
I was truly sorry that the story had to end but I was over the moon with the ending. I know Ernesto was, in many ways, a bad man but equallly I think he had many redeeming qualities. I could never condone some of the things he did but I just couldn't help becoming very, fond of the man.
And the ending, well what can I say. What an incredible twist, I am usuallly fairly good at guessing what's coming or who's done it, but I never saw any of that coming, a reallly fantastic surprise. Every loose end tied up nicely.
All in alll a very, very moving read, like nothing I've ever read before. Not everyone will agree with my comments but I'm certain many, many more will. I will go as far as saying, for me personallly this is the BEST book I've read so far. Thank you, R.J. Ellory.
Next stop `City of Lies'.
