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The Accident Man: A Novel
Unavailable
The Accident Man: A Novel
Unavailable
The Accident Man: A Novel
Audiobook12 hours

The Accident Man: A Novel

Written by Tom Cain

Narrated by John Lee

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Breathlessly paced, international in scope, and featuring one of the most intriguing heroes in recent fiction, Tom Cain's smashing debut surprises the reader at every turn. A thriller that explores the secret of Princess Diana's death, The Accident Man imagines the man who may have killed her. For a certain sum of money, Samuel Carver can arrange a death. A ruptured gas line, an automobile crash, a fall from a window-anything can be made to look like an accident. But when Carver is set up, betrayed, and pursued by the very forces that hired him, he must execute his most daring feat yet.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 31, 2008
ISBN9781429592109
Unavailable
The Accident Man: A Novel

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Reviews for The Accident Man

Rating: 4.166666666666667 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This thriller has been sitting on my TBR shelf for several years patiently waiting to be read. If only I had known how good it is, I would have read it when I bought it. This one is a real winner.The plot begins with the death of Princess Diana in Paris. You'll remember, I'm sure, that various conspiracy theories got a lot of attention at the time, and actually some people still believe them. Tom Cain has built an intricate, frightening tale which takes off from that fatal accident.The major character is an assassin who goes by the name Samuel Carver. Old military friends know him as Pablo Jackson and he has various other identities as well. He is a loner, wouldn't you know, who was given away by his mother when he was born, and who doesn't trust anyone except for a very few close friends. (Sorry about the snide remark about loners. It's a pet peeve of mine.) He seems to be able to survive anything and to be fearless. He is fit and healthy, but mainly he's smart and able to plan ahead quickly. He doesn't know who he works for, only that he has the job because of his old commander in the British military. Someone he knows as Max calls him, gives him the target and then provides him with the supplies he needs. Afterward he deposits lots of money in Carver's bank account. His assassinations are always supposed to look like accidents.The other major character is a young, beautiful Russian woman. She is supposed to kill Carver but instead stays with him. Their's is the strangest love story you'll ever read but it makes sense in this story. It's also quite odd that I liked both of them even though I knew they were killers.I must warn readers who are squeamish about violence that this is a violent book; of course, since it is about a killer. I sometimes shy away from violent books, but I was so caught up in this one that I simply expected it and greedily read until the final page. I've been lucky to read several page-turners lately. When I finished this one, I looked at my husband (who was smiling at my edge-of-the-seat reading) and said, "Wow! What a book!" I can't tell you any more about the plot without possibly slipping in spoilers. All I can say is that this is a winner. It has well-drawn characters, everyone from the truly evil to people capable of evil to achieve a good end. The settings, whether French, Swiss, or British are beautifully depicted. The plot is intricate and ever-changing, but yet easy to follow. And the ending simply took my breath away. Highly recommended reading, with warning of violence.Source: probably a book sale
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Samuel Carver is the go-to man when an accident needs to happen. So, in late August 1997, when a radical Islamic terrorist is preparing to launch an attack on Paris, his bosses call him back from vacation to take care of the situation. At least that is what he was told. Turns out, there is no terrorist - Islamic or otherwise - only an innocent woman who is loved by the whole world. Trouble is, by the time Samuel realizes what has happened, it is too late. Now he knows too much and HE is the one who is the intended accident victim. Furious at the double cross and running for his life, Samuel has to discover who was behind the plot to kill the princess before they can catch up with him.I've got mixed feelings about this book. It started out as a rousing good thriller - with an interesting premise: "what if Diana's death was no accident?" (Note, though, that the author's preface makes clear his intention just to write a good story, he is not trying to assert that any conspiracy actually existed.) The set-up, with the elaborate double-cross, was nicely done. Carver's initial escape and discovery of the true target and situation was also well done. His subsequent evasion and investigation were OK, but becoming increasingly unlikely - however, not inconsistent for the genre. Trying to avoid spoilers, but it was the final portion of the book that just went a little too far. I will give it points for making the hero vulnerable - he actually was slowed down by his injuries even to the point of incapacitation. (Of course, those injuries would have been fatal in anyone else.) I loved the first 3/4 of the book and would have awarded it 4 stars at that point. But during the last quarter, the action just became too frantic, too violent, too predictible. So much so that it detracted from the rest of the story and brings my rating down. However, I will still be seeking out the sequel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Looking for a unique thriller? The Accident Man by Tom Cain may be just what you need! The summary: For a certain sum of money, Samuel Carver will arrange a death. A ruptured gas line, an automobile crash, a fall from a window; anything can look like an accident. But when Carver is to carry out a job in a tunnel in Paris, and when the job goes wrong for him, and when he is pursued by the very forces that hired him, Carver must execute his most daring feat yet. A thriller of the grandest and most exhilarating sort, The Accident Man races above and below the streets of Paris, across Europe, and through storms at sea. It is also a startling introduction to a hero engaged in acts of moral violence. With the dissolution of world powers, with everything and anything for sale, how does one justify death? Samuel Carver—a clouded man of determined action—will come to understand the prices to be paid.I don't think I've ever read a thriller quite like this book. It's a work of fiction, a 'what if' surrounding the death of Princess Diana. What if one of the conspiracy theories actually happened - what would it look like? Who would be involved? The best part is it doesn't really focus on the princess but rather on the Accident Man: Carver. On his skills and his vulnerabilities. On the people he works for - the ones he knows about and the ones he doesn't, and how he finds out who they are. The book is thoughtful - we know Carver's worries and desires about doing his job. And we get to see how he deals internally about the consequences of his actions and being double-crossed. I completely bonded with Carver. However, this book is not for the faint of heart. It does contain quite a bit of killing and various other items that one would see in an action movie. However, the details are not lengthy and don't overwhelm the story - which is Carver trying to come to terms with what he did and figuring out how to fix what he can. I highly recommend this book to other thriller readers out there. If you like a good spy novel or a unique conspiracy theory, The Accident Man will be a book you won't want to put down.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Samuel Carver gets paid to make accidents happen. He can be classified as a hit man. His jobs usually involve him eliminating bad people like terrorists and human traffickers. Sam’s boss, Max gives Sam his latest orders to take out Ramzi Hakim Narwaz a terrorist. This mission just may be his last as it will have him running for his life. Sam accomplishes his mission. He makes Ramzi’s car crash into a cement wall at the Alma Tunnel. The date is August 31, 1997. What Sam doesn’t know is that the crash has actually took out America’s princess, Princess Diana. While Sam is trying to survive he meets Alexandra “Alix” Petrova. Alix is hired to take eradicate Sam. Sam and Alix come up with a plan to join forces instead in order to learn what is going on. Buckle up your set belts and get ready for the ride of your life!From the first moment I read this book summary I have been wanting to read The Accident Man. Just the concept of the plot caught my attention. Well I can tell you I was not disappointed. For me this book hooked me right away. I found myself reaching for The Accident Man every chance I got. It might because The Accident Man really made me think of The Bourne movies with Matt Damon or maybe it was all the action as well as adventure on every page. Well whatever the case I am glad this book was not a let down. The Accident Man is Tom Cain’s first novel and I am sure we will be hearing more from him. Also this book is being made into a movie, which you can see why when you read The Accident Man.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The Accident Man turns out to be a run-of-the-mill espionage and hit man thriller. However, before it settles among that cluster of books it starts of with some unique differences. One is -- without spoiling it -- a tie in with a well-known actual historical event (not 9/11), the result of which is to invoke emotion, gravitas, and a range of feelings specific to each reader. In addition, the author uses early suspense and slowly unraveling the facts to draw the reader in superbly. Over the course of the book, thought, it markedly settles into a genre thriller with all the typical plot devices. We have the hapless Swiss Banker, Russian Mob, International Secret Cabal steering global events, torturing the hero to 'make him talk', sultry seductress love interest, etc. The author does manage to use these to their full effect: the result is a very Robert Ludlum Bourne-like book.Samuel Carver, not his real name, is a former British Special Forces soldier who was recruited to be an assassin. And of course he's 'very good' at it. He is made to be a sympathetic, caring character. Along the way of his adventure, he meets a sultry innocent female killer-in-training and they fall in love. And his organization turns against him and his journey is to find out who it is he's actually working for--almost a mirror image of the same journey of Ludlum's Jason Bourne. All in all, Accident Man is an engaging, fast-paced book that is a solid read but is not unique.