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J. Clayton Rogers
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The 56th Man Kindle Edition

by J. Clayton Rogers (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 106 ratings
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A former member of Saddam Hussein's Special Security Force arrives in Richmond, Virginia. Under the name of Ari Ciminon, he sets up house on the James River. The house was purchased for him by the U.S. Marshals Service, which is responsible for watching over him while he supplies intelligence to CENTCOM. Because he is fluent in Italian (as well as a host of other languages) he is presented to his new neighbors as an Italian of Arab descent. Ari learns on his first day that the previous occupants, Jerry and Moria Riggins and their two sons, were murdered in their home nine months ago. The murders are unsolved. Ari has plenty of free time on his hands and sets out to solve the crime--in his own peculiar way.
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  1. Book 1 of 13
    The 56th Man
  2. Print length
    529 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    June 1, 2009
  6. File size
    648 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Hear a selection from the novel on Youtube:
youtube.com/watch?v=J1fAe2tYHOA

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00578K3GQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ ; 1st edition (June 1, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 1, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 648 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 529 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 106 ratings

About the author

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J. Clayton Rogers

J. Clayton Rogers

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I am the author of more than ten novels. I was born and raised in Virginia, where I currently reside. I was First-Place Winner of the Hollins Literary Festival a number of years ago. Among the judges were Thomas (Little Big Man) Berger and R.M.W. Dillard, poet and husband of the writer Annie Dillard. Along with my wife, I have rescued and maintained 22 stray cats, which should tell you something about me (good and bad). Permanently addicted to writing, I am currently at work on "Backside", the sixth in the series of Ari Ciminon (The 56th Man) novels.

Website: https://www.jclaytonrogers.com/

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
106 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Chi-lover
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow ... This ought to be a Best seller, or was it?
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2013
Verified Purchase
Truly, it's that good. So well written, smooth ... Just smooth. Not sure if I've run across an Author of Mr. J. Clayton Rogers caliber in this Century, perhaps longer. Think along the lines of classic Authors, such as Wilkie Collin's, Anthony Hope, etc.

The 56th man reminded me a tiny bit of John Buchan's "The Thirty-nine Steps", in that it had twists and turns, an interesting backdrop story, although John Buchan chose to draw his out into several volumes. All fast moving, keeping one interested. Only The 56th Man made all the transitions smoother ...

My only complaint, once again, is this books cover. I feel it is sorely lacking and doing this wonderful book an injustice.
Don't judge this book by it's cover ... inside is a highly professionaly written book. Ignor the cover.
Mr. J. Clayton Rogers ... I'd be happy to donate a cover to/for this book.
I loved your book.
11 people found this helpful
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ts
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2022
Verified Purchase
The story was good but a little confusing. There are too many variations of the truth to be sure what was really the truth. I was disappointed in the ending. It was a complete ending but it left out a lot of details of the MC. They maybe detailed in the second book.
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Tess_W
3.0 out of 5 stars The 56th Man was a free book from Kindle. ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2015
Verified Purchase
The 56th Man was a free book from Kindle. It was the story of a Iraqi "police"man who worked when Saddam Hussein was in power. He eventually was brought to the U.S. to work in intelligence. He was housed by the Federal Marshalls in a home where the entire family had been murdered. It was a difficult book to follow all the flashbacks and to even try to find out the connection to the title...I can't even remember that now. Difficult to put the pieces together.
One person found this helpful
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Scooter Boy
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read with very interesting overtones & ending.
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2012
Verified Purchase
Have you ever been the odd one out? Perhaps, simply misunderstood or boxed in to some role you were not interested in playing? You are not alone, as is the role of the protagonist in The 56th Man. A lot of people don't always fit in. They may look different, or they may just feel different. And many times that is a good thing. Being different can push us to think outside the box, to resist peer pressure, to find our own path in life, to discover what only we can become.

Mr. Rogers, no pun or inference intended, has an engaging style and creates a well crafted book with careful character development. I've read several of his novels and they are very thought provoking and never mundane, like many famous authors churning out dozens of "cookie cutter" series.

His other books range in style and content from Civil War history to prehistoric and future science fiction ... give a read.
17 people found this helpful
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Robert Lane
4.0 out of 5 stars What An Interesting Book!
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2013
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I found this book when Amazon was offering it on their free list. I was not familiar with the author, but thought that the synopsis of the book was interesting, so I downloaded it.

Unlike most of the novels in this genre that I have enjoyed, this one didn't "hook" me right at the beginning. However, I eventually reached the point where I had trouble putting the book down.

I found this book interesting on many levels. First, it offered an interesting plot that was not overly transparent, and had enough action to keep it from being boring (and even the slow places served a purpose). Second, the main character was very different and very interesting, and the author did an excellent job of revealing who he was as the story unfolded. Third, it offered insight into a different culture, and did so in a way that was both interesting and contributed to the story line. Fourth, it offered some interesting viewpoints about how the United States might be viewed by other cultures.

However, this last item played a part in why I gave the book 4 starts instead of 5 - not that the author challenged us to face how others may see us, this was a good thing, very thought-provoking in a few cases. What bothered me was a lack of balance. There seemed to be a lack of any redeeming qualities in any the characters except for the protagonist and a few other foreign characters, such as the Chinese, once he came to the United States. To me, this was a little "over the top."

Was this a huge deal with me? No, it wasn't. I enjoyed this book and would gladly recommend it to all who are reading this review.
3 people found this helpful
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Patricia
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! Whodunit that forces you to think!
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book was top of the line albeit sometimes its message was a tad uncomfortable. It involves two timelines, one detailing protagonist Ari's (let's call him that) life in wartime Iraq and one covering his work in the US, having been brought over to work for CENTCOM (the US Central Command}. He is moved into a house in Richmond, VA, given a minimum allowance and a computer (monitored by the US Marshall's Service), a desk, a table and a a few chairs. His job is to go through photos of people committing atrocities and identify the perpetrators and if possible, the victims, too. His background in Saddam's Special Security Force and his near photographic memory make him especially suited to this job. Since all the people he can identify can also identify him and aptly consider him a serious threat, they have done their best to do away with him, hence the quick transfer to the US, where he is "safer."
On moving into the Richmond house he learns that a family of four including two children was murdered there a few months previously and that amazingly little has been done to track down the killer or killers. Ari is exceedingly well trained, excels as an investigator, and he is curious. When he digs up a drug dealing thread and follows it, he becomes a target once again, this time being hunted by Americans.
In the meantime, Ari keeps seeing parallels between democracy in the US, peppered with do's and don'ts and subtle ways of coercing adherence, and the autocratic dictatorship in Iraq with its much more direct and brutal response to deviants. The book was wonderful but scary! It certainly deserves to be read!
3 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Very Confused
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2013
Verified Purchase
Unless I missed something there was no explanation how the two stories were connected. I was almost at the end before it was revealed. There was so much obscenity that I actually skipped many pages. I'm not a prude but the story could have had the same impact without details that were so offensive. The story was good.
11 people found this helpful
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