Exact Revenge

April 11, 2005
The world is Raymond White's oyster: a working-class boy from Syracuse who made good, he's got a Princeton degree, rugged good looks and the gorgeous girlfriend to match, and partner status at a law firm by age 25. But in this lively modern-day retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo
, just as White is poised to run for Congress, he is framed for murder, convicted and thrown into solitary confinement. After almost two decades of hard time, White is befriended by a fellow prisoner, lifer, "thief and part-time murderer," Lester Cole. "Exact revenge.... If you don't do it, you'll be a professional victim. You exact it and it's exact. Not just a reaction, but planned out. Precise. It needs to send a message," Cole advises, beginning his tutelage about life, literature and the location of a billion dollars worth of loot that they'll split after they escape. Cole dies in the breakout through the sewers of the Big House, but White goes on to retrieve the money and put in motion his reprisal plan against the former colleagues who framed him for murder. White takes down his enemies one by one in a fun, fast-paced update on the Dumas formula that will have readers booing the bad guys and rooting for the wronged hero. Agent, Esther Newberg.

January 1, 2005
A political candidate framed for murder stews in jail, plotting his revenge.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2005
In the early 1980s, Raymond White had it all--partnership at a law firm, a beautiful girlfriend about to become his wife, a close relationship with his father the rocker (in a quarry, that is), and the prospect of a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Why, then, when the novel opens, is he trapped in solitary confinement, doing time for a murder he didn't commit? That's the question he tries to answer, and he has plenty of time to work it out: what happened, who set him up, and how he plans to exact revenge. It's clear who masterminded the whole operation from the start, but we don't grasp how deep the deception goes. After 18 years, White is out of prison and dead set on making things right. What follows takes place at a heart-pounding pace, with suspense constantly building in a manner similar to " The Fugitive" , as White's chase for the truth forces his enemies to start chasing him. Green's writing can still be a bit heavy-handed, but he knows how to get a narrative steamroller moving and keep it going. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)