Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

A great story, well told on its own terms, but it is also beneath its surface a brilliant cautionary tale

Customer Rating:

Sometimes it is the simple plot that grabs you the most effectively. I love complex ideas in novels, ones that present challenging twists and turns that keep you thinking and keeping track of the who, what, when and where. It's difficult, however, to beat a simple, direct idea that is so sharply focused with laser intensity that it burns itself into your brain so deeply that you can't get it out of your head. That is what one encounters with Marcus Sakey's new book. GOOD PEOPLE has a simple enough premise. Four bad guys --- Jack, Bobby, Marshall and Will --- are involved in a robbery that quickly goes bad. Bobby winds up dead, and Will cuts out on his partners with the money. Will subsequently overdoses on drugs and dies in his rented duplex. His landlords, Tom and Anna Reed, find his lifeless body and discover the money. They keep it. And all hell breaks loose. Let's start with Tom and Anna. You know them. You may even be them. They are overextended, up to their eyeballs in debt and barely hanging on, and undergoing extensive fertility treatments that have failed four times and make sex an obligation rather than a recreation. Sakey nails them so well, so painfully, that you almost feel like an intruder in their lives. When they find the money --- and the method by which this occurs is worth the price of admission all by itself --- it's like manna from heaven. And the way the Reeds convince themselves that no one will ever know is note for note pitch-perfect. They report Will's death to the police but don't let on about the money, following the old theory that telling just enough of the truth will keep them safe. They pay off their debts, try another baby-making round, and still have plenty of benjamins left over. There is only one problem. Someone does know about the money. Jack and Marshall are still out there, and both of them --- especially Jack --- are seething over what was done. They are looking for Will, turning over every rock they can to find him. And when Tom and Anna get a bit of unwelcome publicity about the gruesome discovery of the dead body on their property, Jack quickly figures out that while Will may be gone, the money isn't and that, in all probability, Tom and Anna have it. Jack wants the cash but is also looking to vent all of this serious anger he has over what happened. Tom and Anna are as good a target as any. All of this would be more than enough to land GOOD PEOPLE on the top of your "must read" pile. But what is really striking is the manner in which Sakey documents step by step the Reeds' slow slide into disaster. One minute they're like Uncle Scrooge, rolling around in their money yelling "Wheee!" The next minute, not so much. By the time they realize that maybe they should get straight with the police (or with Jack, or with somebody) and turn the money in, it's way too late. And it doesn't take too long to get to "way too late." But even more than this, the book raises some subtle questions about greed and, more importantly, appreciating those blessings that one has --- and how easy it is to lose it all. GOOD PEOPLE is a great story, well told on its own terms, but it is also beneath its surface a brilliant cautionary tale that will quietly resonate with you for some time after you finish reading. It is simply not to be missed. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Customer Rating:

Tom and Anna Reed are the "good people" of the title. They are going about their lives, frustratingly trying to start a family by any means possible, but so far unsuccessfully, despite infertility treatments and four failed in vitro procedures, leaving them grimly unhappy and heavily in debt. Jack Witkowski, his brother Bobby, and their buddies Will and Marshall are the bad guys, petty and not-so-petty criminals who pull off an unexpectedly big score. Their lives intersect with that of the Reeds when the latter accidentally but fatefully stumble upon the nearly $400,000 cache of stolen money. The Reeds think to themselves: "It's not your money. It would be wrong." Then "Whose money is it? Why not mine? Why is it wrong?" Uncertain what to do, but desperate and out of their depth, they think "If they went to the police, they risked everything. If they didn't, they risked their lives." The detective who first investigates the crime, Chris Halden, sees solving it as a huge feather in his cap and boost to his career. "And all he had to do to get there was bring in a drug dealer . . . , four hundred grand in stolen cash, and two civilians dumb enough to try to keep it." My stomach muscles clenched as the run-up proceeds to the inevitable confrontation. The pages are filled with nerve-tingling suspense, as should be expected from the man whose book last year, "The Blade Itself," was equally taut and well-written. It must be something in the waters of Lake Michigan and its environs, but we have read some wonderful novels by Chicago authors of late, e.g., Sean Chercover, Libby Fischer Hellmann, and Michael Harvey, and to that list must be added this extraordinary writer, Marcus Sakey. I found myself torn between being unable to stop reading, mingled with anxiety at what would happen on the next page. Ultimately, it was no contest: I could not put this book down. Highly recommended.

Could'nt put it down

Customer Rating:

I flew through this book in no time. It was the first I had read by this author and it is addictive from the first page. However, I just read his first novel, "The Blade Itself" and lo and behold it is the exact same formula. I could not believe it. If I had not read these books back to back, I may have missed this as I tend to forget what I have read over a period of time as I read so many books. The characters are different, but the plot line is the same. He did this already with his first novel and now with his third. I have not read the book in the middle yet and have to wonder what it is like. A very entertaining book, I was just disappointed to notice this and have to question what his next novel will be like. This obviously takes away some of the originality.

Terrific book - Can't wait for the movie!

Customer Rating:

"This book as absolutely awesome. It's fast-paced, believable, and absolutely riveting. It's about an ordinary couple who find $400K in a very believable way. They decide to keep it. They make a few mistakes, just like any normal person. Turns out the money is from a robbery, so they have some robbers & drug dealers after them. They have no idea what to do or how to handle it. Would you? That's what makes this book so great. There are no super cops or gunslinging FBI agents. It's just a normal couple who got themselves in a bad situation. Read this book. Recommend it to friends! It is awesome!"

Who wouldn't be tempted. . .?	Customer Rating:
Marcus Sakey's third book grabs the reader and holds on for the ride. He brings out weaknesses many have underlying. Who wouldn't want to find that pot of gold? The trouble, it's not a legitimate jackpot, but no one knows, do they?