A pulse-pounding intro to a series about a young New York City investigative reporter. Here he is attacked by a corrupt policeman while on an assignment and then accused of killing the cop. A national manhunt ensues, a beautiful woman joins him in flight, and the pair try to solve the crime while running from cops, FBI, and a mob hitman. Over-the-top but fun. ( )

A very fine debut novel.The plot is tight and this is a first rate thriller. ( )

Ich hab das Buch innerhalb von zwei Tagen verschlungen, insofern kann man den Roman als gelungenen Thriller bezeichnen. ( )

This satisfactory debut novel from Jason Pinter features nearly nonstop action, mostly believable and sympathetic characters, a realistic plot conflict, and a likeable first-person narrator. Armed with a formidable list of endorsers, including James Patterson, Lee Child, and Joseph Finder, the book is well written enough to make this young author successful once he irons out some of the rough areas.

Henry Parker is a fresh-faced 24-year-old reporter for the New York Gazette. Though his personal life isn’t everything he once hoped it might be, he’s thrilled with the opportunity to live out his journalistic ambitions at one of the nation’s most respected journalistic icons. Little does he know his first big assignment could spell not only the end of his career but the end of his life.

After narrowly escaping death at the hands of a crooked police officer while researching a story, Parker finds himself framed for the cop’s murder. Now the target of a nationwide manhunt, he struggles to escape New York while trying to track down leads pointing to the real murderer. Parker spends most of the book trying to stay one step ahead of both the cops and the real criminals as Pinter builds the suspense and mystery right to the climactic final scene.

A fast-paced, entertaining read, The Mark nevertheless suffers from some avoidable rookie bloopers. A few loose connections in the story aren’t quite sewn up, and unfortunate grammatical errors, improper word usage (e.g., confidence instead of conscience), and awkward phrasing serve as obstacles to the reader’s enjoyment as well. On the positive side, the action is intense, and the newspaper backdrop allows for some intelligence behind the intrigue and mystery. Pinter adds some texture by employing a mixed narrative, switching back and forth between first-person and third-person storytelling.

The story is unfortunately marred by foul language and crass humor, and the underlying worldview is one that takes sexuality very lightly, so caution is required. Sophomoric humor and some lame analogies (“my statement sunk in like a hypodermic needle”) betray the author’s inexperience as well. Still, this is a solid first effort from an author who will undoubtedly be entertaining mystery fans for a long time. ( )

I would love to give this novel 4.5 stars, but am rounding up due to one reason: it surprised me. I read a lot of suspense-type books, and this didn't have the typical suspenseful turns, but actually managed to surprise me and catch me off guard in places. For that, I round up to 5 stars instead of down to 4 - I've read so many books that it was very rewarding to find an author that takes an old genre and take us on a dance of twists and turns with plenty of surprises along the way. I'm looking forward to the second novel, where hopefully we'll find out more about the past of the main character (Henry). If you're looking for a suspenseful thriller that catches you off-guard, I'd recommend this one... ( )