Jason Pintor The Mark

The Mark

Jason Pintor

Mira, Jul 2007

ISBN: 0778324893

Henry Parker dreams of becoming an investigative journalist like his heroes Bernstein and Woodward. So when he has an opportunity to work in New York he leaps at it. However, still new to his job and the city, Henry is assaulted while on assignment.

When he regains consciousness, Henry finds he no longer seeks the news, he is the news. The NYPD think he is a cop killer while the FBI considers him as the prime suspect. He realizes if law enforcement catches him, he will take the fall as no one will believe his innocence; even he has doubts with the evidence that he knows of. On the lam with the Feds and local cops giving chase, Henry quickly learns how dire his predicament is when mobsters seek to silence him after they recover a package he allegedly possesses; Henry realizes if the mob gets him he would need to turnover to them what they demand if he is to die without a brutal beating, but the problem is that he does not have what they require. He knows he needs to elude the cops and the mob while also pursuing the same clues that will lead the cops and the mob to him.

This is a terrific thriller starring an interesting protagonist who goes from awe to desperation as everyone wants a piece of him. The exhilarating story line is told either in the first person by Henry or in the active third person with the switching very smooth so that no disruption occurs. Readers will appreciate the insight into the frightened frantic hero as he explains what he thinks is happening to him while inside of an action-packed on the run investigative tale.

Harriet Klausner