What do readers think of Ghostman by Roger Hobbs? Write your own review.

If you are a fan of the heist and how it all works, or doesn't, then this is the book for you. It's kind of an Ocean's Eleven meets Quentin Tarantino. The workings of a heist are beautifully crafted in Ghostman but be prepared for tons of violence. This is a gory one. I am impressed with the detail in Roger Hobb's first novel and this has the potential of becoming a series. I am not sure that is the author's intent but I can see where its main character's story is not finished and there are clues that other characters need to be explored further. The story follows a past job and the fixing of a job that has just happened. "Jack" is called in to fix it. His specialty is to make the players of a job like ghosts, vaporizing when it is done. Hobb's imagination is amazing, either that or he has lived quite the colorful life so far for someone so young. I expect to see more from this author and his ghostman, Jack.

"Jack" not his real name -- we don't think is called in to clean up the mess made by two casino robbers in Atlantic City. One of them got away with the money, but if it isn't retrieved within 48 hours, the cash will explode ... Jack doesn't want to be part of this heist at all but thanks to a foul-up of another robbery in Kuala Lumpur 5 years earlier, he's forced to dance to the tune piped by his boss.

The narrative shifts back and forth between KL and AC, and we get glimpses of the planning that led to the KL debacle and thus to the current situation; Hobbs kept my attention very well with his backstory and descriptions of Jack and his fellow burglars. I really enjoyed this book.

What a great read. So much to learn about bank robberies! This was a winner. I have read Lee Child's stories of Jack Reacher and found them a little more graphically violent than I can stand. This book, while detailed, did not dwell as much on that aspect. I, of course, read straight through it because it was that exciting. Roger Hobs does not dwell on ANY extraneous details too long. Jack, the "hero" is like Superman, who swoops in, fixes the situation , and disappears. That means that we might hear more from Roger Hobbs and his Jack? I hope so.

Fairly well written, but too much detail and a fairly predictable ending.

I thought this was an interesting story with some intriguing characters. It seemed the author did a lot of research (or has a former life as a criminal) in order to relate all the details of the various heists, encounters with bad guys, and other criminal escapades. I must admit that about halfway through the book I found it somewhat annoying that Ghostman had the ability to out think, out smart and out maneuver in every single situation. I do think the author has great imagination, excellent writing skills and a very bright future. Can't help but wonder if this book is the opening salvo in a new Ghostman series. If so, sign me up for the next installation.

The success of this book depends on the reader's belief that the protagonist, a seasoned thief, is an expert in all things the reader is not, including, but not limited to, bank robbery, firearms, pharmaceuticals, money laundering, money minting, automobile repair, law enforcement techniques, cell phone and radar jamming. The list goes on and on. It is quite possible that the author truly is an expert in all of this (though the book jacket remarks that he is a recent college graduate, so it seems quite unlikely that he has had all of those experiences.) I am by no means an expert in any of those fields, but as a physician and a hunter, I do have some knowledge of firearms and pharmaceuticals, and the protagonist's (often lengthy and pedantic) dissertations on, at least these two subjects, were wildly off base. This, in the end, ruined the book for me.