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Unwilling Paperback – April 5, 2022
John Hart (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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THE INSTANT BESTSELLER
“We the unwilling, led by the unqualified to kill the unfortunate, die for the ungrateful.” ―Unknown Soldier
Set in the South at the height of the Vietnam War, The Unwilling combines crime, suspense and searing glimpses into the human mind and soul in New York Timesbestselling author John Hart's singular style.
Gibby's older brothers have already been to war. One died there. The other came back misunderstood and hard, a decorated killer now freshly released from a three-year stint in prison.
Jason won't speak of the war or of his time behind bars, but he wants a relationship with the younger brother he hasn't known for years. Determined to make that connection, he coaxes Gibby into a day at the lake: long hours of sunshine and whisky and older women.
But the day turns ugly when the four encounter a prison transfer bus on a stretch of empty road. Beautiful but drunk, one of the women taunts the prisoners, leading to a riot on the bus. The woman finds it funny in the moment, but is savagely murdered soon after.
Given his violent history, suspicion turns first to Jason; but when the second woman is kidnapped, the police suspect Gibby, too. Determined to prove Jason innocent, Gibby must avoid the cops and dive deep into his brother's hidden life, a dark world of heroin, guns and outlaw motorcycle gangs.
What he discovers there is a truth more disturbing than he could have imagined: not just the identity of the killer and the reasons for Tyra's murder, but the forces that shaped his brother in Vietnam, the reason he was framed, and why the most dangerous man alive wants him back in prison.
This is crime fiction at its most raw, an exploration of family and the past, of prison and war and the indelible marks they leave.
- Print length384 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateApril 5, 2022
- Dimensions5.4 x 0.96 x 8.2 inches
- ISBN-101250168384
- ISBN-13978-1250168382
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"[The Unwilling] will confirm John Hart as one of the best crime fiction writers working today." ―Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine
"Another embarrassment of riches from Hart’s seemingly unlimited basket of talents." ―Book Reporter
"Unforgettable and propulsive ... extremely well-written suspense with emotional depth." ―AARP
"Often, the most gripping historicals take place during our immediate past as John Hart demonstrates in The Unwilling...Hart skillfully mines the details of the early 1970s and the impact the Vietnam War had on the country...the story’s strength is its deep examination of characters and the country. Each is a product of the times while trying to look to the future." ―Oline H. Cogdill for the Sun Sentinel
“A compulsively readable work propelled by not only race-against-time action, but also the endearing bonds between siblings put at loose ends by war, prison, and addiction, John Hart’s The Unwilling provides a unique thriller, well-suited for our times. Hart’s novel proves very much successful, as it allows readers a bit of escapism from the tumultuous world around them.” ―North Carolina Literary Review
"Hart explores matters of courage and cowardice, fear and family, combat and criminality as his narrative takes numerous turns and builds to a conclusion at once frightening and redemptive. Hart combines literary excellence with popular appeal. And in “The Unwilling”― a novel that evokes not only a particular time but also timeless issues―he again burnishes his stature." ―Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
"Hart's writing is tense and powerful... a novel that you'll be thinking about for a long time after you turn the final page." ―Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Another scorcher from Hart ... [he] keeps us engaged ... subtly folding quiet, character-driven moments into the story while still powering the narrative toward an all-stops-out ending―and a chilling coda. Remember to breathe after you turn the last page." ―Booklist (starred review)
“John Hart creates novels that are somehow raw, tender, brutal, and exquisite―all at the same time. Exceptional.” ―C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"The Unwilling is crime fiction at its absolute best. An impeccable story teller, John Hart weaves an intricate tale of family, war, prison, and murder into a thoroughly thought provoking and enjoyable read that I absolutely could not put down." ―Mark Greaney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Minute Out
“John Hart writes about violence with frightening passion and vivid description. At the same time he masterfully lets you see inside a powerful family dynamic. His villain will be in anyone’s top 2.” ―John Sandford, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Prey Series
"Richly complex, as intricately woven as a fine tapestry, soul-piercingly emotional, this is John Hart at his lyrical, atmospheric best. He builds a world and draws you in, and there you remain, a willing captive." ―Tami Hoag, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Boy
Praise for New York Times bestselling author John Hart:
"John Hart can flat-out write." ―David Baldacci
"A master storyteller." ―Harlan Coben
"This generation's Pat Conroy." ―The Providence Journal
"Hart's writing soars off the page with a lyricism that probably only James Lee Burke can match." ―Daily Mail (UK)
"If you crave thrillers that are vividly beautiful, graphic, will make you bleed, try John Hart." ―Patricia Cornwell
"Hart writes as if he is channeling William Faulkner, or perhaps collaborating with the Cormac McCarthy of the Blood Meridian era." ―Book Reporter
About the Author
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Product details
- Publisher : Griffin (April 5, 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250168384
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250168382
- Item Weight : 11 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.4 x 0.96 x 8.2 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #43,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #783 in Historical Thrillers (Books)
- #943 in War Fiction (Books)
- #1,246 in Military Thrillers (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

JOHN HART is the author of six New York Times bestsellers, THE KING OF LIES, DOWN RIVER, THE LAST CHILD,IRON HOUSE, REDEMPTION ROAD and THE HUSH. His seventh novel, THE UNWILLING, be will be released on February 2, 2021. The only author in history to win the best novel Edgar Award for consecutive novels, Hart has also won the Barry Award, the Southern Book Prize, the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award and the North Carolina Award for Literature. His novels have been translated into thirty language and can be found in over seventy countries. He works from home on a Virginia farm, where he lives with his wife, daughters and four dogs.
He can be found here:
Website: http://www.johnhartfiction.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnHartAuthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnhartauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnhartauthor/
Customer reviews
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Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2021
Top reviews from the United States
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This novel presents "good" in its basic guise versus "evil" in many of its disguises. Not since "Iron House" has author John Hart used his considerable talents and imagination to present such a passionate and suspenseful story confronting evil in such horrifying detail. Mr. Hart sucks you into this fast moving tale and immediately gives the reader a load of pregnant dread to carry on his or her back. And look out when the water breaks because anyone and everyone is a potential drowning victim. Bravo Mr. Hart!
I’m so glad I finally did. ‘The Unwilling’ title hints at the underlying theme that ties this often disjointed story together! It’s intriguing, suspenseful, & bizarrely profound! The author packs so many scenarios into one storyline, making it seem disjointed & maybe even containing parts that feel unnecessary, but NO … the finale expertly seals up the gaps in a novel with more zigs & zags than expected. As always…we’ll done John Hart!
Top reviews from other countries

Anyway, after just a couple of chapters, I was well and truly pulled into this twisty, turvy tale, and it did prove to be the proverbial page-turner. However, this novel wasn't quite as good as I'd expected. As I've come to expect from Mr Hart, his writing was exquisite in places, and I thought he did a wonderful job of depicting the early 1970's, and the effects of the Vietnam War on the American people. I did get a strong sense of time and place, and was soon rooting for the French family. But, as the story progressed, it felt to me as if the author was trying just a bit too hard on this occasion to appeal to a wider audience. In doing so, I thought the plot sometimes stretched credibility. It's a bit of a cliché, but a fiction writer is supposed to make the unbelievable believable, yet even I struggled at times to accept the plausibility of some of the players in this story and the predicaments they found themselves in. As I mentioned earlier, John Hart is such a skilful writer - so much so that I was more than 'willing' to be taken on this journey, and I did stay the full course, not skipping any sections - it just wasn't quite as enjoyable a trip as the ones I'd experienced with Redemption Road or The Last Child (both brilliant by the way). 3.5 rounded up to a 4/5.

Too much about the violence that goes on in American prisons and corrupt wardens.
I hope he goes back to his previous style of writing.


