No Justice: A top-notch modern vigilante thriller

'Let him laugh. One more hour and he'd be dead.'

The explosive start to Darcia Helle's "No Justice" immediately hooked me. Almost before I knew it, I was deep in the world of Michael Sykora - software designer by day and a killer for hire at night.

Only Michael doesn't kill just anyone. Instead he targets the lowest of low-lifes - rapists, murderers, child abusers, woman-beaters, child porn pimps - who manage to weasel their way through the justice system unscathed. If the person seeking vengeance can afford it, he takes pay for his work. If they can't, he does his work 'pro bono.'

Along with being well-written, in a crisp, noirish style, Ms. Helle's book is well-paced, speeding up as it approaches its violent bits and then slowing down to develop the multi-layered character of Michael and the people in his world. We meet Ruby, his congenial secretary; her son Isaac, a cop and friend to Michael who's unaware of his homicidal sideline; and Sean, a fellow assassin. We also see Michael slowly reconnecting with his long-estranged alcoholic father, who's gotten sober, but is now dying of cancer.

As we restlessly turn the pages, we also learn of the defining event of his life: the brutal murder of his fiancee, Christina, the great love of his life. A shattering event that has clearly left him emotionally wounded, even as it has set him on the cold-blooded path he now follows - that of the feared professional killer known as the Ghost.

Then a woman from Michael's past appears. Nicki, a prostitute with whom he took physical solace after losing Christina, comes to him for help. She's in mortal danger from Antonio Lott, a murderous gang-banger who believes that Nicki has information that could bring him and his cohorts down. But instead of being a relatively easy, solitary kill like most of his victims, Lott keeps himself surrounded by thugs, which makes Michael's job far more difficult than usual.

Soon Nicki is staying at Michael's place and the sexual and romantic tension between them becomes ever more palpable.

Finally the book comes to a satisfyingly violent conclusion. But it also leaves some tantalizing threads open.

In sum: "No Justice" is a fast-paced, top-notch modern vigilante thriller. It had me turning the pages non-stop to see what would go down next, and left me itching to get to the next installment in the author's Michael Sykora series. Highly recommended. ( )

This was a good read. Kept my interest and was entertaining. Characters were good and the storyline was good. Would recommend to others to read. ( )

Would you take justice into your own hands to protect those you love? Would you kill to save them?

In No Justice, software designer, Michael Sykora, does just that. Known only to a few, he's also a killer for hire, a part-time hit man who takes scum off the streets. Driven by his own tragedy, Sykora steps in where the justice system fails.

The pace is quick, the characters believable. Sykora wastes no time eliminating his targets. His love for his friends and his concern for the vulnerable is clear; it explains why he does what he does, maybe even justifies it, and makes him human.

His personal relationships are engaging, more so when they overlap his night-time career. He hides the fact he's a paid assassin from his closet friend; a cop. Despite what he does, Michael Sykora has a conscience. He won't murder a target if there's the possibility they might be innocent.

He's a vigilante. Does it make him bad? As bad as his targets? Or is he doing the world a favor? You decide. Remember the title before you decide.

This is an excellent book filled with action, good dialogue, wit, and great characters. The bonus feature at the end raises the question again; the moral dilemma - how far would you go to do the right thing? ( )

I didn’t know how I would feel about reading a book about a “nice” guy killing the “bad” guys. My belief is that killing is wrong. The end.

The day I received this early reviewer, I read the back cover and the first two sentences of the story. That first line intrigued me. I couldn’t wait to read it.
The reader didn’t have to warm up to the story. The story was red hot right from the start. The suspense made the pages turn faster than what I had expected.

Here was an everyday guy doing the everyday things, but can’t ignore the feelings he has toward the men that abuse women and young girls (children). It all started when his fiancé was brutally murdered. Michael Sykora went seek out revenge.

From that day on, he lives two separate lives. His talents for revenge get known. He is sought after by people to eliminate hard-core criminals. And he is good at it. He doesn’t leave clues. He gets the job done and done right the first time. He has everyone baffled on who he is. No one knows who is committing these crimes. They all refer to him as “the ghost”.

When an ex-prostitute has nowhere to turn, Nickie turns to the only man she feels she can trust. A man she met in her past. At first, she doesn’t know how he can help, but after a short time she realizes that Michael gets involved personally to help her.

It’s a fast paced exciting read. You start to understand why Michael does what he does. You urge him to catch the bad guy. You are on his side. You get involved in the story. You think twice about if killing is wrong all the time. ( )

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I loved that the book was written from the perspective of the killer. I found myself rooting for the main character, Michael Sykora. I would have never imagined that I would support someone killing but I found myself hoping that Michael would get all the "bad guys."

The level of suspense and tension was perfect throughout the book. You never got bored or bogged down with too much detail. The story moved quickly and kept you on your toes.

I thought the characters were well developed. My only complaint with the characters is that Nicki just suddenly appeared in the story. It took me a minute to put the puzzle together as to how this prostitute (Nicki) who was beat up in an alley fit into the story. As Nicki's character developed, the pieces really started to come together. I think I would have liked to see Nicki's character developed more before she ended up in the alley.

I was very pleased with Helle's writing style and thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will definitely recommend her to fellow readers and I look forward to reading more of her books. ( )