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Jack Donovan lives for his job. He’s managed to blow his marriage, his relationship with his daughter Jessie, and pretty much anything else good in his life. Right now, his focus is on a cult leader named Alex Gunderson. Gunderson’s cult is the Socialist Amerikan Reconstruction Army, acronym SARA, which is also Gunderson’s pregnant wife’s name. Gunderson is pulling a bank job, which isn’t his favorite line of work but it draws a lot of attention. Unfortunately for all concerned, the bank job goes well but the get-away does not. In an automobile accident, Sara is very seriously injured and Gunderson’s unborn son is killed. Gunderson is, as one might expect, a little pissed off. Gunderson kidnaps Jessie and buries her somewhere with about 36 hours worth of air in the tanks. When Donovan meets with Gunderson, to get his daughter back (like that's going to happen!), a trigger-happy cop kills Gunderson, presumably the only person who knows where Jessie is buried. KISS HER GOODBYE is the story of Donovan’s search for his daughter. He tracks down just about anyone who ever knew Gunderson or Sara, and lots more people get killed along the way. One of them is almost Donovan. When Donovan dies, he meets Gunderson in the after-life. Somehow this gives Gunderson the power to make Donovan a zombie at strategic moments in the story. This is where Browne lost me. The writing is wonderful. Even when some of the plot elements made me want to put the book down, the quality of the writing drew me back into the story. Donovan is a strong man, tested to his limits. Gunderson is just as strong, a worthy opponent. Browne has the pacing down, the tensions down, all the twists and turns one expects from a good thriller. I just didn’t buy the whole mind-control, back from the dead stuff. If thrillers are your kind of book, and you don’t mind that weird supernatural element in your thrillers, then you’ll probably really enjoy this book. While I could relish the writing quality, the ability Browns has to capture setting and ambience, I couldn’t work that supernatural aspect of the novel into my reading comfort zone. Your mileage may vary.
Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, February 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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