The acknowledged master of psychological suspense and heart-stopping terror, New York Times bestselling author John Saul now invites you to descend to chilling new depths of darkness--and discover a secret, savage world that exists beneath our very feet. The promising future of New York City college student Jeff Converse has suddenly been shattered by a nightmarish turn of events. Falsely convicted of a brutal crime, Jeff sees his life vanishing before his eyes. But someone has other plans for Jeff, in a far deadlier place than any penitentiary. He finds himself beneath the teeming streets of Manhattan, in a hidden landscape of twisting tunnels and forgotten subterranean chambers. Here, an invisible population of the homeless, the desperate, and the mad has carved out its own shadow society. But they are not alone. The pitch-dark tunnels and abandoned subway stations are haunted by the unmistakable sounds of predators in search of game. Someone has made this forsaken civilization beneath the city a private killing ground . . . and the hunt is on. Trapped in a treacherous underground maze, cut off at every turn by ragged gangs of sinister "gamekeepers," and stalked relentlessly by unseen hunters, Jeff faces overwhelming odds in the race to reach salvation and elude capture. With no weapon but his wits, and an unimaginable threat lurking around every dark corner, Jeff must somehow move heaven and earth to escape from a living hell. The Manhattan Hunt Club is the most thrilling and suspenseful novel yet from the ingenious mind of John Saul. From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com ReviewIn Manhattan Hunt Club John Saul plumbs the depths of the Manhattan underground--the network of subway tunnels and secret caverns and chambers where the homeless denizens of the city have created their own society. It's a world Jeff Converse, a young college student convicted of a crime he didn't commit, never knew existed until he is plunged into it after an "accident" that occurs while he is being transported to prison. He soon realizes that it's no accident, but the opening move in a deadly game being played by some of the city's most powerful men and women, a game in which he is the prey and they are the hunters. Jeff's only chance to make it to the surface and survive lies in allying himself with a homicidal maniac who's appointed himself the young man's protector, but whose designs on Jeff are almost as lethal as those of his enemies in the Manhattan Hunt Club.Saul made his reputation in the horror genre, but he now focuses on psychological terrors rather than things that go bump in the night. His narrative gifts are displayed to great advantage in this heart-stopping thriller; the pacing is flawless and the central characters are very well developed. What keeps this from living up to its fullest potential is the inadequate motivation of the villains, who are largely one-dimensional cardboard cutouts. But that won't keep this otherwise topnotch thriller off the bestseller lists, where Saul (Nightshade, The Right Hand of Evil), like Stephen King, is a perennial contender for the number one spot. --Jane AdamsFrom Publishers WeeklyWhy mess with success? Twenty-four novels and 24 years down the road, Saul continues to deliver the same sleek pulp entertainment that he's been selling in high numbers since his debut with Suffer the Children in 1977. This time out, Saul sets his melodramatics mostly below the surface of Manhattan, in the tunnels populated by the homeless. Because of mistaken eyewitness testimony, Columbia University architecture student Jeff Converse has been convicted of attempted rape and attempted murder. En route to Rikers Island, the police van carrying Jeff is rammed, and Jeff is taken by a homeless man into the tunnels, only to be locked in a room with another prisoner, homicidal maniac Francis Jagger. Days later, Jeff and Jagger are released into the tunnels, told that if they make it to the outside world, they live; if they don't, they die. Eventually we learn that an elite group of Manhattan power brokers has created a club devoted to hunting convicted malefactors and having their bodies stuffed in the manner of big game trophies, using the underground homeless as beaters in the hunt. Meanwhile, Jeff's fianc‚e and father search desperately for Jeff, first above ground, then below. The novel builds suspense steadily, but reaches full steam only when Saul plunges his principals mercilessly into the stygian underworld of Manhattan. The premise of a Manhattan Hunt Club skirts absurdity, as do the villainous members of the club, but Saul scores points about society's treatment of the homeless. The prose is serviceable, the action rough, intense and often distasteful in other words, this is vintage Saul. (Aug.)Forecast: With major ad/promo, including a sample chapter in the mass market edition (June) of Saul's Nightshade, this will reach the author's fans. Expect many to travel with Saul into the nasty depths, only to breathe deeply as they look up from the book to a sandy beach and clean ocean waves.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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