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Bad Connection

Bad Connection

  • Hardcover
  • Author: Michael Ledwidge
  • Release Date: April 2001
  • ISBN-10: B000H2MZJA

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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon

Summary

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5 Score = 4.5

Temptation in Our Path

Rating: Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3

Interesting story, if you can get beyond the first few confusing chapters - almost made me think it was a collection of short stories instead of a book. Your everyday phone guy listens in and comes across information he shouldn't have. He talks himself into believing it won't hurt anyone and can be a big help to him, so why not use it to his advantage. The wheels begin to turn from him to his policeman brother, who is himself not beyond some shady dealing. The twists and turns- although a little far fetched at times- keep the reader on edge to find out what becomes of this basically Mr. Nice Guy who could easily be someone we know.

A ball that hits the foul pole is fair

Rating: Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3

I know it's not central to the premise, but when a writer screws up a basic fact that millions of people know, it really bugs me.

When describing Scully, the former athlete, the author talks about his brief "cup of coffee" in the majors. In his first game he makes two errors, and late in the game hits a ball that hits the left foul pole and bounces left. He then strikes out on the next pitch, and basically his career is over.

Of course, any baseball fan knows that a ball that hits the foul pole is a homerun, regardless of which way it bounces, but don't let basic facts get in the way! The books is not bad, I enjoyed it until I read that part, but that one fatal mistake spoiled the book for me. If that's how carefully he writes, what else is nonsensical?

Now THIS is an Excellent Example of a Great Thriller!

Rating: Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5 Score = 5

Michael Ledwidge knows how to write a suspense novel, and that's that. It combines the age-old issues of money and morality as we see phone repair man Sean Macklin eavesdropping on a high powered investment banker as he exchanges insider trading tips and picks up on them for himself. Then one day he hears something he shouldn't hear, and he is morally outraged, although tapping into someone's phone calls didn't bother him before. He wants to turn the CEO in, and hands the tape he's made to his brother Ray, who shakes the guy down instead and begins a domino effect of violence and tragedy for himself and everyone he gets close to.

Twists and turns abound, the action never stops, and you hope the best for at least Sean who didn't know his brother wasn't going to listen to him. I was truly impressed with Ledwidge's story and would like to see a sequel. Like another reviewer, I could imagine certain actors playing these characters as well, so maybe we'll see a movie? Then again, what movie could ever match the excellence of the novel? Get this book, because there's not one boring moment in it. Crime, greed, morality, and humor. Bad Connection has it all.

QUITE A RIDE!

Rating: Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4 Score = 4

This was a fast, tense, twisting tale, all the more exciting because it was written by a guy with inside information. Mr. Ledwidge seems destined for a long career in this genre. This would make a terrific movie. His characters come alive, his dialogue is crisp, and his action sequences are not for the faint of heart...everything the action flick devotee loves. I already have the lead actors chosen...

Fast-paced suspense, intriguing premise

Rating: Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3 Score = 3

Bad Connection is a novel with a fascinating premise --a telephone worker listens in on the corrupt dealings of financial bigwigs in Manhattan and attempts to use the information to his own advantage. Sean Macklin is the closest thing to a hero in this basically amoral tale. He works underground in midtown Manhattan, where he repairs the phone lines for some of the world's most powerful financiers. When he overhears a conversation about an upcoming merger, he sees no harm in using that information to do some daytrading of his own. Macklin's inspiration to make extra money is not greed, but his wife, who is seriously brain damaged after a car accident. The plot thickens when Macklin continues to listen and learns of a plot that involves not merely stock manipulation but the killing of native people in Central America. Sean then turns this information over to his brother Ray, a corrupt cop. From here, we have a complex but well-developed story, as Sean, Ray, the callous CEO of a pharmaceutical company and his ex-CIA henchman all collide over this volatile bit of information. I really enjoyed most of this book, but found the last quarter of it or so a little over-the-top in its action and violence. Although Bad Connection deals with moral issues, it doesn't exactly have a moral, being ultimately too cynical for that. Michael Ledwidge has an exceptional talent for writing clear, taut and elegantly descriptive prose. Although this is a good book, I think he is capable of even better ones.