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Blood on His Hands
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by:
ISBN:
0-7414-5261-8
©2009
Price:
$14.95
Book Size:
5.5'' x 8.5''
, 239 pages
Category/Subject:
FICTION / Mystery & Detective / General
A racy thriller that will lead you on a journey to rural Georgia as detective Ian Walker stalks escaped wife killer Mike Renton to a bloody conclusion on the Appalachian Trail.
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Abstract:
Michael Renton’s life seemed to end the moment he pulled the trigger sending his unfaithful wife and her lover into oblivion.
On the lam, his journey takes him from rural Oklahoma to the glitz of Las Vegas. He had not however, anticipated the determined tenacity of private investigator Ian Walker, who tracks him down to northern Georgia on to the Appalachian Trail just outside of the sleepy hamlet of Helen.
Nine months later, however, when human remains are discovered by a hiker just off the Appalachian Trail will the White County coroner’s office might the right decision?
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Customer Reviews
 
Sadler's Work A Fine Start
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05/14/2009
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Reviewer:
Patrick Griffin - Editor, Aztec Press
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Sadler's novel, "Blood on his Hands," is told from varying perspectives, but always through third person. This tactic allowed Sadler to balance how much he shows the reader with how much the traits of his particular characters speaks on an introspective level ... Sadler’s debut work may best be described as rough around the edges. In the advanced copy available for review, some elements of the story seem jagged – as if the author had too much to say but not always the right words with which to express his concept.
Despite this, “Blood on his Hands” is a continuously enigmatic tale. Where it is flawed by its brevity, the novel should be commended for its intrepidness.
“Blood on His Hands” is consistently peppered by Sadler’s bold and direct voice and, where the book may lack craft or tact, the story benefits from its sincerity. It also deftly fits into the category of summer reading (a book that you can read relatively quickly without greatly tasking your mind, and acquiring a sense of gratification through escape).
-Patrick Griffin ("PCC student has 'Blood on His Hands" - Aztec Press, 05-07-09)
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But I want more
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05/14/2009
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Reviewer:
Randy Ford
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I congratulate Mark Sadler, and am happy to say that his prose is clear, crisp, and consistently good. While I was reading it I became aware of not only how accurate his details were but also the accuracy of his prose. He is precise, which I think is one hallmark of a good writer. He is also a careful writer and has done his research. I trusted him when he took me places, places I’ve been and places I want to go.
“But I want more,” I protested. I didn’t want to put the book down or for it to end.
Now that Mark has completed an entire novel, his first, I hope he continues to write and that I’m privilege again to hear bits and pieces of it throughout the creative process. I hope he has gained the confidence needed to keep going. He has taken off with a sprint; now he faces a marathon. I obviously enjoyed the sprint. It held my interest and was suspenseful. And like Mark’s protagonist, who isn’t your typical protagonist, I’ve always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail.
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A Solid First Effort From Sadler
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07/19/2009
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Reviewer:
Pamela Simmons
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There are crimes of passion and crimes of logic. The boundary between them is not clearly defined. -Albert Camus
Mark P. Sadler's debut novel, "Blood on His Hands," is a contemporary murder mystery that takes you into the world of Mike Renton, a hardworking, oil rigger, living a humdrum life in rural Oklahoma. When Mike catches his philandering wife, Bonnie in the act with Ian Walker, a New Zealand private investigator; Mike issues Bonnie a one-way ticket to the hereafter. Now a fugitive on the run, tormented by his memories, Mike takes us on a journey of wanton despair that leads him from the flat-lands of Oklahoma, to the Appalachian Trail of North Georgia, in a desperate search for peace and atonement.
Sadler tells his story from multiple perspectives, which is written in third person. This approach is dizzying at times however; where the book lacks refinement or sophistication, Sadler redeems himself with his ability to vividly describe each scene with laser-sharp precision. His characters are believable and well developed, and the details are spot on. Being a native Georgian, I was particularly impressed by the great care he took in describing the sleepy little town of Helen and the Appalachian Trail. Another formidable aspect of the book is its cadence. The story moves extremely well, with one scene building upon the next. Unfortunately, the ending is less than climactic and left me wanting more.
"Blood on His Hands" is an easy read and is a solid first effort from Sadler
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Thoroughly enjoyed this book
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09/02/2009
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Reviewer:
Todd Fonseca
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As I read Mark Sadler’s Blood on His Hands, I was reminded of A Simple Plan by Scott Smith and how a sequence of smaller choices suddenly gets completely out of control and the resulting consequences destroy so many lives. Sadler does a great job putting us inside Michael Renton’s head and the remorse and questions one would ask themselves if found in a similar situation – Is life worth continuing? What about kids and family? How to live with such guilt? Can inner peace be regained? Is ending it all being selfish or is continuing to live more selfish? If only one could go back in time and change any one event perhaps it would all be different…
I especially enjoyed the latter half of the book where the action takes place along the Appalachian trail. The author’s month long experience hiking the trial comes through in the wonderful description of the trail itself, the available lodging, the wildlife, camping, types of hikers one encounters, small towns along the trail, equipment needed, and all around hiking life on the trail. The care in which all of this is described and woven into the storyline gives it a strong sense of realism such that I felt I was right there along experiencing the beauty, wonder, danger, and aching muscles associated with hiking the AT.
The eventual climax and resolution of the novel is very satisfying and expertly written in the vein of classic passages penned by best selling authors Lincoln and Child. Those who enjoy an engaging and fast paced thriller along with the majesty of one of natures most beautiful hiking settings will surely enjoy Blood on His Hands.
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Debut from expatriate Brit: Solid psychosexual thriller with minor defects
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11/14/2009
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Reviewer:
Steve Minton
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Brit expatriate and randy raconteur Mark Sadler's debut novel "Blood on His Hands" is a solid and earnestly written thriller, not so much a murder mystery (since we learn early on whodunit) as a study of the psychosexual dynamics of a homicidal but oddly sympathetic loner on the lam. The book's unexpected ending provides a new twist on the concept of the bad guy getting his just desserts, and its closing chapter provides a haunting allegory of dubious religious redemption. The author's background as a soccer player and marathon runner provides a sense of verisimilitude to those related passages, while his 9 to 5 as a commercial debt collector informs his gritty characterization of the vengeful private investigator who pursues protagonist Michael Renton on his introspective and guilt-ridden flight across the Appalachian trail.
Despite these strengths, Sadler's fledgling effort is marred by his often confusing decision to depict the interior monologue of his characters without italics. A more understandable model would have been Ken Kesey's masterful use of stream of consciousness in "Sometimes a Great Notion." He also tends to overuse cliches, and the prepublication copy to which I was privy was riddled with a tad too many typographical and grammatical errors - which I trust have been amended in future editions. The dialogue seems a bit stilted at first, but Sadler hits a better rhythm as his tale progresses. He demonstrates that he is capable of scatologically precise prose, such as "Time was crawling like a dung beetle rolling his shit across the Sahara," and heights of visionary intensity: "Once his thirst was sated he just stripped off naked, there in the forest primeval, let the water cascade over his entire being as if in a baptismal ceremony; a reminder of the pact between him and his creator."
Steve Minton
Artist - Tutor - Editorial Consultant
www.tsmintonweb.net
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This ain't no romance novel
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01/04/2010
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Reviewer:
Ryn
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Tucson author Mark P. Sadler’s Blood on His Hands is not your average romance novel. In fact, even though it contains love and heated passion, this book is not a romance novel at all.
Unless, of course, you count the brief romance between our dear Bonnie and her lover Ian before our Bonnie is blown in half by her husband, Mike, and his shotgun.
Descriptions are grand in this work. You will not find the boring, long-winded, twisted passages you find in 18th century novels or hard-to-follow poetry.
Sadler is direct, brief and right to the point. And he does sway a bit poetically.
Take his description of Bonnie meeting the shotgun: “Bonnie’s chest…disappeared in a hazy red mist and her body flew backwards slamming into Ian rising behind her. As he sat up her head slammed into his with a force so strong that it momentarily knocked him unconscious.”
Nothing like being knocked out cold by your dead lover’s skull. Ian, too, is left for dead beneath the heavy corpse of his beloved.
Check out Sadler’s view of weeds at a desolate ranch: “Tumbleweeds danced, twirled and weaved in the wind, like straw ballerinas finally sacrificing themselves on the barbed wire.”
Gorgeous.
In addition to plenty of blood, guts and sacrifice, Sadler uses another beautiful writing technique.
He gets the reader to honestly like every single character as we follow the story through different points of view.
Even though Bonnie is a cheating hussy, we understand where she’s coming from.
We dig her lover Ian with his sexy private eye occupation and equally sultry New Zealand accent.
We like Bonnie’s family, we adore her and Mike’s two kids, and yes, we even like Mike. Mike, the cold-blooded killer.
The novel does not end with the bloody bedroom scene, but rather kicks off with it. What transpires next is Mike’s flight from justice, which takes him from Oklahoma to Las Vegas then on a Greyhound to Georgia to hike the Appalachian Trail.
The trail is a perfect place for Mike to hide, think and toy with the idea of turning himself in. But best of all, through his flight, we get more of Sadler’s delicious descriptions.
Whether it be the view from the grimy bus window across Kansas City or the mice-ridden cabins along the famous trail, Sadler puts us there.
We also feel the pain of Mike’s journey, a trek he decided to take so he could go die from the rattlesnakes or elements. Mike’s hike is excruciating, but not just because he is struggling with his will to live, his inner demons, his love for the sons he left behind and his horrific guilt for slaying the woman he loved, but because he is also being pursued.
I won’t wreck the book by saying by what or whom he is being sought, but I will tell you this novel will captivate you to the very twisted end.
This review was originally published at www.tucsoncitizen.com/dating. READ MORE Ryn work at www.tucsoncitizen.com/rynski
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Expect the Unexpected
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07/26/2010
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Reviewer:
Robert Sadler
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Review for: Blood on His Hands (Paperback)
Though of no relation to Mark P. Sadler, I ran into this writer because we do share the same last name. I found Mark's book to be an intriguing onion of discovery; I kept peeling away the pages as quickly as possible to get to the end. The expected is kept at bay by the unexpected.
"Blood On His Hands" is a contemplative tale of murder by unintended consequences in Oklahoma. And yet, do the stars really align without some ordination? A pre-birthday fight, a birthday slight, and a birthday night lead to adultery and death, a killer on the run and a PI literally on his trail, the Appalachian Trail. Hunter and hunted... two of God's wounded souls, man against man, Man against Nature; what will prevail? I recommend you read "Blood On His Hands" to find out! You will be missing a very good story, if you don't.
Robert J. Sadler
Author of Jamaica Moon & Judas Oracle
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A book review by Author William Butler
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03/07/2011
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Reviewer:
William Butler
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A crime of passion set to the background of dust and revenge. Mark Sadler weaves his story of betrayal with a pace of desperate anticipation. Michael the husband works hard for the money as he takes care of his wife, Bonnie, and two boys, Seth and Caleb. The money pays well and he does his best to take care of his family. Mike would do anything for Bonnie and the boys—even go to counseling with Bonnie so he could keep the flames of his marriage alive. Mike leaves for a weeklong job, which angers Bonnie, but she seems to take it well for when he’s gone she gets with her sister and plans a night out with the girls.
Enter Ian…the private dick…new love interest for Bonnie, who doesn’t waste any time at all leading Ian into her clutches. Their relationship moves fast and the two begin to move in together. As they have sex for what seems like the first time…Mike comes home. Mike’s back early due to a damaged machine at his job. When he pulls up to the trailer, he doesn’t see Bonnie’s car, but someone else’s (Ian’s) and proceeds to believe he is being robbed. Mike grabs his gun and enters the house through a hatch he made that came up into the bedroom from under the trailer. You can guess what happens from here, which has Mike on the run from the law. But the law is the least of Mike’s worries, as there is someone who wants him to pay for what he had done and is going to stop at nothing to make sure payback is served.
The story has its moments and is well paced, though there are moments to where the character’s are detached and you wish to know more of their inner motivations. The sex scene was detached as well. I felt as though they were not really into each other—I didn’t feel their passion. But that’s me. Overall, I think the character’s were just existing and not experiencing their surroundings. The tensions between the characters were none existent as well. Tension is conflict…I didn’t feel it.
But please don’t get me wrong…Blood on His Hands is a great story and is a good read. It is worth being on anyone’s bookshelf. And for a debut novel, it’s definitely a good start. I’m going to be looking for more from this author.
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Raw and Rigorous
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07/06/2012
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Reviewer:
sbr martin
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Mark Sadler’s “Blood on His Hands” reminds me of a hot and heavy one night stand. The novel starts out good and only gets better as it picks up pace. As it nears its end, it’s a heart-pounding, racing experience with shocking twists, turns, and bumps, some painful and some splendid—surprises pop up in all the right places, simultaneously slowing one down while also leading to a clenching climax. And, when the whole thing is done, you’re left thinking, “Whoa, did that just happen?” Haunted and wilted by everything that just took place, the reader is ensnared by certain idyllic moments but disgusted by the primitive emotions and actions that seeped out uncontrollably, both in the text and in the reader’s own mind.
“Blood on His Hand”s had my hands nearly bloody—from biting my fingernails to see how the story would play out. Sadler’s writing style is very direct and straightforward, easy to read and inviting to all levels of reading. Nonetheless, Sadler still employs great literary maneuvers that leave the reader wanting only to turn the next page or click to the next screen. The writing is deep, explorative, and soulful, leading up to an ending that this reader did not necessarily expect or want, an ending which was, for this reason, quite a surprise and very thought-provoking. It left me questioning my own ideas of what constitutes a just conclusion to any tome.
The suspense is intoxicating, but it’s the story of “man-confronts-man on the trail” that is the backbone of this psychological thriller. It’s intense, moving, and highly recommended.
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