IRON HOUSE by John Hart begins with Michael and his pregnant lover, Elena, but soon switches to flashback so we understand what he means when he worries that she doesn’t really know him or know about all the horrible things he’s done. We learn that Michael and his brother, Julian, were partly raised in an orphanage, Iron House. It was a miserable place, for Julian especially. He was a very weak person, but he did have Michael to protect him. And here is where Michael learned to be tough.

Julian is adopted by rich parents, and Michael is not. He ends up, instead, being raised in a Mafia-type mob. Then he meets Elena, and he wants out.

But Michael kills, an act of mercy, the dying “old man” he loves. The “old man” was the head of the mob, the person who rescued Michael when he was a boy. So Michael becomes the mob’s enemy. They hunt for him. And, he learns, the mob is also trying to get to Elena and Julian, who Michael hasn’t seen since Julian was adopted.

In the meantime, Julian lives with his adoptive parents, even now as an adult. But, in spite of every material advantage and his mother’s love and devotion, he never does well. He is permanently scarred by his experiences at Iron House. And he doesn’t have Michael to protect him anymore.

Now Michael and Elena are on the run for their lives. Rather than leave the country, though, Michael insists they find Julian so all these years later he can once again protect him.

IRON HOUSE, like Hart’s other novels, will suck you in right away. And you won’t be able to put it down easily, either. I tried. A book arrived in the mail after I had started IRON HOUSE. I needed to read the other book in 3 days. I couldn’t.

IRON HOUSE got better and better, right to the end. Whatever I guessed turned out to be something else.

Few authors can write a thriller like Hart does. While most are plot driven and formulaic, Hart’s are character driven as well plot driven and far superior. So it not only keeps you up at night like a great thriller should; it also makes you care about the characters.

Michael is the star of this story, and of course you’ll love him. But I wonder if I don’t love Julian’s mother even more.

This book is a little out of the genre that I normally read. While I do enjoy a good mystery, sometimes I choose to read more lighthearted books, thinking that sometimes I have enough angst and drama in my life and would rather mindlessly enjoy a book instead of being anxious.

This is definitely the exception! I LOVED this book. There is nothing better for me than a story that sucks me right in and this book kept me guessing what was going to happen next. The story was detailed, the characters unique, and even though it was quite violent at some points, at the end, that wasn't what I remembered most about this story.

Michael was an orphan that had been placed in a poverty stricken, little supervised orphanage where terror and torment were rampant. There with his younger brother, he fell into the position of protector and was forced to flee when his brother breaks and kills one of the bullies and he takes the blame. He is eventually taken under the wing of a notorious crime boss and becomes a hired killer.

This story picks up as Michael is trying to leave the business and the crime boss is dying. Closer to Michael than his own son, the crime boss releases him to let him live a normal life with his pregnant girlfriend, only to know that the son and gang will be seeking him to kill him. Michael eventually has to flee with said girlfriend and go to visit his mentally unstable brother, adopted the same day he left the orphanage by a senator and his wife.

The story is gripping and even with the bloodshed, has a good story and message.

Everybody mostly liked it, It wasn't his best book, It was ok. Not everybody was convinced on the story line.

I liked the book for a quick personal read that was a change of pace for me. Wouldn't recommend as a club choice though.

Very exciting story line that was extremely fast paced making it a great choice for book clubs. So much was jam packed into this book but it was very easy to read and understand, enabling great discussions at the book club meeting!

Twist and turns, unexpected expectations, characters and writing style is flawless! Page turner!
We met twice a month just to finish this one!

This book is not my typical genre- However, this book was a compelling, fast moving read. Pretty gory in places, but the twists and turns will keep you reading to the end.