Crisscross: A Repairman Jack Novel, Book 8

Ah, the usefulness of the term Criss Cross. It was the title of a film noir movie with Burt Lancaster, as well as the name of a character in the movie Scarlet Street (well, technically, Christopher). It is a key idea in Strangers on a Train, and even the name of the Grammy award singer of Arthur's Theme (again, technically Christopher). Jumping on the Criss Cross bandwagon is F. Paul Wilson with his eighth Repairman Jack novel, Crisscross.The title in this case refers to two jobs that Jack is involved with which will intersect in unexpected ways. In one case, Jack has to bail out a nun whose one sin has been photographed by the same blackmailer that Jack had foiled at the beginning of Gateways. The more significant case, however, is a missing persons case: Jack is hired to find the son of an old woman. The son had recently joined the Dormentalist Church, a cult that is obviously based on Scientology. Though there are similarities, it is soon clear to Jack that the Dormentalists have a sinister agenda, one that is linked to the evil force known as the Otherness.As Jack has been previously informed, there will be no more coincidences in his life, so it can be no accident that he is brought into two cases. Furthermore, Jack has had several encounters with old ladies with dogs in the past, and his new employer fits in that category. Coincidence? Jack thinks not. And when both the Church leader and blackmailer become nastier and nastier as they fulfill their agendas, Jack will need to get pretty nasty himself.I personally came into the Repairman Jack series rather late, reading the seventh novel, Gateways first before going back to the beginning with The Tomb. So Crisscross actually begins a new phase in my reading of this series, one in which I have no real idea what the fate of the characters will be. This is not really a good Repairman Jack book to start with; although the plot technically stands alone (and there is a good amount of exposition to link it with other books), this really works best as a component of Wilson's grander storyline. For those who've read the previous books, however, Crisscross is another worthy entry in the series, a fast-moving and funread.

Plot was interesting. The author needs to broom Gia and Vicki but I know they are supposed to be Jacks connection to a normal life.

To those who know him, Repairman Jack is without a doubt the most beloved of the contemporary fictional figures, bar none. He has a fan club, Stephen King is a charter member, after his first book and a couple short stories, he disappeared for ten years and was bought back by popular demand.Jack could be described as a fixer - you got problem and for a fee he can fix it, or a champion of the oppressed - you can't afford a fee, we'll work something out. To the government he doesn't exist. He has never collected a paycheck and has never paid income tax. He has no credit, no credit cards, no FICO score, has never voted, has no social security card, has never been arrested, has no driver's license or passport (at least in his real name). In short he works outside the system totally under the radar.In Crisscross, Jack has two new clients. One is a strange elderly lady with a dog, named Herta (in the last few books there have been strange ladies with dogs, the last one of which told Jack there would be no more coincidences in his life). It seems her son had joined the fast growing Dormentalist Church and recently she has lost touch with him. The second is a moderately attractive young lady, Maggie, (whom Jack finds out later is a nun) who is being blackmailed for some compromising photos.To get the lowdown on the Dormentalists, Jack meets with reporter Jamie Grant, who recently ran the first installment of an exposé on the Dormentalist Church. He plans on infiltrating the church by joining, to which Jamie informs him it's not that easy, proceeding to tell him why. Jack, with help from acquaintances, lays groundwork to attract the top gun of Dormentalism, one Luther Bradley by claiming to be one guy while carrying identification which purports that Jack is one Jason Amari, the wealthy son of an even wealthier businessman. Naturally the security chief discovers this and Jack finds himself in with the head honcho, Bradley because of the families apparent wealth.On the Blackmail end, Jack finds out who the blackmailer is, a crumb named Richie Cordova, who plays at being a private investigator but in reality is a private shake down artist. Jack figures Maggies pictures and others are probably on his computer and he probably has a back up, so he makes arrangement, again with the help of an acquaintance, to introduce a virus into Cordova's computer and follow him to locate the backup.Things are moving along swimmingly on both fronts when little by little things start to unravel. The Church security chief, a behemoth of a man named Jensen thinks there is something fishy about Amari and continues to check him out, eventually locating a photo of the reclusive Amari and after having all his blackmail files destroyed by Jack, Cordova discovers that it was done purposely by someone and Maggie was the one that hired him.CONCLUSIONThis story is a little slow getting started but about halfway through it really gets going big time. Wilson does a superb job of merging the two separate undertakings into one remarkably clever ending. As advertised the Domentalist Church is a vessel of the Otherness and Jack must find a way to stop Bradley and save humanity and life as we know it.As usual, Wilson's writing style is very reader friendly. Wilson, a physician by trade, (or maybe it's a sideline by now) is not interested in talking down to his readers but merely telling his story. His writing is fluid and smooth without too much detail and Wilson has always been a great storyteller with some of the most ingenuous and intriguing plots I have read.I should probably warn you, there is some brutality, though it is a fact and not described and is mild compared to some previous books by Wilson. I have been reading Wilson since he came out with the book "The Keep" twenty five years ago, which was the first of the previously mentioned Adversary Cycle and was followed closely by "The Tomb", the first Repairman Jack novel.If you're looking for something a little different, maybe a little bizarre, this certainly fills the bill. The downside though may be that once you've read this novel you may be compelled to go back and see what you missed in previous stories.

Although vaguely reminiscent of the Short Story "A Day in the Life", this is a fantasticly enjoyable book with a sharp twist at the end. Jack combines two seemingly unrelated jobs...a nun is being blackmailed, whilst another woman- again claiming to be his mother- has lost a son to a mysterious cult. Although continuing the descent toward Nightworld, this book is much more of a stand alone novel than say Gateways, and as such would not be a bad place for new readers to start. Wilson has an incredible knack for creating horrible characters who you cannot help but hate, whilst Jack has the ability to bring them down and give them a justly hideous fate. All in all, this is a very satisfying read, and it leaves you aching for more...

「ナイトワールド」に向かってカウントダウンを続けていくジャックの物語も、再開７作目を数えるところまで来ました。おそらく、あと１作か２作でそのポイントに到達するのではないでしょうか？前作「Gateways」が、相変わらずの恐ろしい場面の他、大変感動的な場面もあったのに比べると、本作「Crisscross」はやや陰鬱なカラーです。ストーリーの中で起こる事件が悲惨なだけではなく、やはりその先に待つ大きな戦いの影が徐々に色濃くなって来ているからでしょう。このシリーズ、前作までの内容を大前提として背景においているので、途中から読み始める訳にはいかないのがちょっと欠点でもあります。とはいえ、いくら読んでも、どんどんジャックが好きになるという点は変わっていませんよ。

great

If you've not read repairman Jack novels before then your in for a treat. I've got every single one and they are all consistently good. Don't expect high literature, these are easy reading, but do expect to be educated, amused, excited and intrigued. You'll be drawn into Jacks unusual and often frighteningly strange world, and if you're like me you may leave somewhat inspired and addicted.

I have never been able to put his books down.