thelizmaguire's review
4.0
Aloysius Tempo, the latest from author Jason Johnson, opens in the future. Our protagonist and namesake, Aloysius, is a hit man for hire. He specializes in “accidents”. Entering middle-age, Aloysius considers his existence so far, managing to live completely off the grid-- or so he thinks-- after his departure from Ireland as a teen. When approached by an organization of dubious foundation to perform three “hard solves” of troublemaking characters before the 1916 Centenary, Tempo complies, but at what cost?
Thanks to Johnson’s eerie storytelling abilities, readers will cringe and wince --appropriately-- without wanting to put the novel down. Because that’s Tempo’s mysterious pull: for every dark and seedy plot point, Johnson’s prose is elegant and swiftly moving, carrying the reader from one page to another. Tempo introduces an anti-hero at the heart of international government conspiracy. Fans of crime noir, mystery and political thriller will delight in exploring the mind of Ireland’s coldest weapon. With a metanarrative of suspicion and paranoia rooted in reality, Johnson’s writing drives the reader to question the hand of fate –or Aloysius—in the dark accidents that befall the names on his list. The universe Johnson creates is so vivid and lifelike that from Amsterdam to Dublin, the scenery is never lacking. Never does it feel like any of the cast of Johnson’s hard characters are truly safe.
Johnson’s fiction casts light on the seedy underworld of real life politics. Readers won’t leave Tempo without asking themselves if it wasn’t so captivating, because it was possible. Like all talented writers, Johnson pulls the reader out onto the precipice between fiction and fact, dangling the unknown. It’s this force that drives and compels the reader, from the safety of their own homes, to question the motives of Tempo’s cast of characters.
The novel closes on a note as unexpected as the protagonist and one just as raw. The story of Aloysius Tempo can hardly be contained. Once opened, Johnson’s Tempo races with speed to a crashing crescendo that will leave readers wanting more. And it’s up to Johnson to share what happens next.
Thanks to Johnson’s eerie storytelling abilities, readers will cringe and wince --appropriately-- without wanting to put the novel down. Because that’s Tempo’s mysterious pull: for every dark and seedy plot point, Johnson’s prose is elegant and swiftly moving, carrying the reader from one page to another. Tempo introduces an anti-hero at the heart of international government conspiracy. Fans of crime noir, mystery and political thriller will delight in exploring the mind of Ireland’s coldest weapon. With a metanarrative of suspicion and paranoia rooted in reality, Johnson’s writing drives the reader to question the hand of fate –or Aloysius—in the dark accidents that befall the names on his list. The universe Johnson creates is so vivid and lifelike that from Amsterdam to Dublin, the scenery is never lacking. Never does it feel like any of the cast of Johnson’s hard characters are truly safe.
Johnson’s fiction casts light on the seedy underworld of real life politics. Readers won’t leave Tempo without asking themselves if it wasn’t so captivating, because it was possible. Like all talented writers, Johnson pulls the reader out onto the precipice between fiction and fact, dangling the unknown. It’s this force that drives and compels the reader, from the safety of their own homes, to question the motives of Tempo’s cast of characters.
The novel closes on a note as unexpected as the protagonist and one just as raw. The story of Aloysius Tempo can hardly be contained. Once opened, Johnson’s Tempo races with speed to a crashing crescendo that will leave readers wanting more. And it’s up to Johnson to share what happens next.
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