Walking Homeless Reviews

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Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Walking Homeless-Al Lamanda

Walking Homeless
Al Lamanda
Five Star, Feb 2010, $25.95
ISBN: 9781594148514

In New York, homeless John Tibbets rescues NYPD cop Gary Nevin near the Manhattan entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge from a deadly assault; making him a city hero for also taking a bullet to the abdomen. Tibbets prefers to return to the shadows of the street. However, three decade police veteran Captain Walter Taft is shocked with a homeless person easily killing three thugs though he is extremely grateful the enigmatic man saved the life of his wife’s nephew by do so.

Adding to the mystery of Tibbets is he has amnesia and is unable to explain his skills of a SEAL or Delta forces commando. Tibbets insists he cannot recall anything before arriving at a

Bowery St.

shelter. The media goes crazy over the reluctant hero who upon leaving the hospital realizes he is being followed for what he assumes is an assassination. He also fears for the life of shelter head Julie Warner. As they flee into the night, corpses are left behind like bread crumbs for the cops to follow their trail.

This is a super fast-paced action thriller that hooks the audience with wanting to know (just like Taft) who is Tibbets as he killed three muggers a couple of nights before the rescue incident made him famous and a target. Fans will appreciate this powerful action-packed tale with several great twists that lead to a one sitting need to know thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Posted by Harriet Klausner at 11:36 AM

Product Details

  Pub. Date: February 17, 2010

  Publisher: Gale Group

  Format: Hardcover, 250pp

  ISBN-13: 9781594148514

  ISBN: 1594148511

Kirkus Reviews

A homeless man becomes a local hero-at a steep price. When John Tibbets comes to the rescue of an NYPD cop, he's shot for his trouble, but that may be the least of his problems. After 30-plus years on the job, Captain Walter Taft has seen it all. He's thankful that Tibbets saved his wife's nephew, but when he starts looking into how a homeless man easily killed three muggers, he finds some surprises. For one, Tibbets seems to have a classic case of amnesia. He has no idea how he acquired the skills of a Navy SEAL or any memory of anything before he came to the Bowery shelter that's now his home. Tibbets says little, keeps out of trouble and is in remarkable physical condition but is plagued by nightmares. His story arouses a media frenzy that brings him to the attention of a mysterious crew that does everything possible to find him when he walks out of the hospital. Realizing that he may be tagged for death, Tibbets goes to Julie Warner, who runs the shelter, for help. As he and Julie flee for their lives, they leave a trail of corpses in their wake. Taft wants to help, but even the resources of the NYPD may not be enough to keep Tibbets ahead of that ruthless team of killers. As in his debut (Dunston Falls, 2008), Lamanda provides thrills, chills and a final twist that make this entry stand out.

WALKING HOMELESS by Al Lamanda: Book Review

November 8th, 2010 | Author: Marilyn |

A man on the ground.  A policeman  stops to see if he needs help.  The man rises and two other men come out of the shadows.  One smashes the cop on the head, another grabs his wallet and his gun, and the third gets ready to give the order to shoot.  Then another man appears.  Seemingly without effort, he disarms the man with the gun and kills all three of the attackers.

Walking Homeless by Al Lamanda takes us on a trip through the Cardboard Box City of Lower Manhattan, the place where the homeless, alcoholic, and drug-addicted men and women went to live after they were removed from the newly upscale Times Square.  Among these is John Tibbets.  All he knows about himself is his name.  He’s been on the streets for about three years, brought by a doctor to a Catholic shelter where he sleeps, when he’s able to.  He spends his days stopping cars and washing their windshields for pocket money; he spends his nights having violent dreams that always end with people dying.  But why is John having these dreams?  He has no idea.
After saving the policeman’s life, John becomes a media sensation.  Newspapers, magazines, and national television stations all want a piece of him.  And so do several mysterious men.  They want him alive, but will take him dead if that’s their only option.
The reader knows there’s something pretty scary about John.  The way he handles himself, his presence of mind under extreme pressure–this is not your average homeless man for sure.  Could he have been a military man before his amnesia set in?  A former policeman?  But his skills seem too extreme for that.  And what about his nightmares?  They are becoming more detailed, less fuzzy, although John is still a long way away from figuring out who he is and why men are after him now.  As we follow his dreams, we know that this is no innocent, that there are things in John’s background that are too painful to face.  But that still doesn’t explain why he’s being followed.
This is an intimate look into the dark side of Manhattan or, for that matter, any city that simply wants to forget its homeless, its mentally ill, its most vulnerable. Out of sight, out of mind seems to be the motto of those in charge.  This novel has a strong sociological bent, even with all its violence.  And there’s plenty of that.
Walking Homeless is a stunning book.  Besides being an excellent thriller, its underlying message makes you think about how we, as a society, view the neediest, least capable among us.  It’s not a pretty picture.
Apparently Al Lamanda doesn’t have a web page.  Aside from the fact that the back jacket says he comes from Maine, I couldn’t find out anything about him.  There’s virtually nothing on the Internet.   Could it be that that’s not his real name?  Another mystery to be solved.

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