---
product_id: 20783950
title: "The Return Hardcover – September 3, 2013"
brand: "michael gruber"
price: "S$10"
currency: SGD
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.sg/products/20783950-the-return-hardcover-september-3-2013
store_origin: SG
region: Singapore
---

# The Return Hardcover – September 3, 2013

**Brand:** michael gruber
**Price:** S$10
**Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Return Hardcover – September 3, 2013 by michael gruber
- **How much does it cost?** S$10 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Currently out of stock
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sg](https://www.desertcart.sg/products/20783950-the-return-hardcover-september-3-2013)

## Best For

- michael gruber enthusiasts

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- Trusted michael gruber brand quality
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## Description

Full description not available

## Images

![The Return Hardcover – September 3, 2013 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41whp315KML.jpg)
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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Maybe a 4 or 5 star if you really like Thrillers
  

*by K***U on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 19, 2013*

This is Gruber's fifth stand alone novel; he has alo written a series of three other novels.  "The Return" (TR) is the first Gruber book I have read and I was attracted to it for two reasons - it got a very good review in my local newspaper, and I have seen a number of very favorable comments about Gruber's writing.  But a red flag should have gone up when I read the newspaper review and saw the label "literary thriller".  I don't like thrillers generally be they books or movies and I tend to avoid them.  The reviewer labeled TR literary because he felt it dealt with a number of issues and he listed half a dozen, none of which I can recall now.  But I was hooked.  And disappointed....a literary thriller is still a thriller.  The story is about a very successful man living in New York and in his 60's who's just been told he has inoperable brain cancer and likely has but a couple of months to live.  He decides it is time to bury his wife's ashes in her native Mexico, and he further decides to buy an expensive property in the heart of drug cartel lands.  A sidekick buddy from Nam days decides to tag along and on the way he initiates a bar fight in the Deep South by bad mouthing the confederate flag.  Sounds like a plain old thriller at this point to me.  What follows is a lot of shooting, a lot of dead bodies, a lot of ruminating about Nam experiences.  The writing is very good and there are sidetracks into Mexican culture, the US role in drug wars, etc.  Whether or not that makes this book "literary" I have no idea.  I was too distracted by the usual thriller stuff.  So TR was not my cup of tea but I suspect most other reviews are a lot more favorable.....

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Michael Gruber is one of my all-time favorite authors! His writing is so intelligent
  

*by M***L on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 28, 2016*

Michael Gruber is one of my all-time favorite authors!  His writing is so intelligent, so clean, his plots are engaging and push the normal bound of reality, without being unrealistic.  The Return was one of the best book I've ever read.  It follows the journey of the protagonist deep into Mexico and confronts him not only with his past but with current reality of the narcoviolente gangs.  It's steeped in Mexican culture and explores the intricacies, inherent fatalism and tragedy, as well as the childlike innocence and joy of the Mexican psyche.  I lived in Guadalajara for 2 1/2 years many years ago and I found that his accounts were accurate and insightful, and could only have come from someone who spent significant time in the heart of Mexico - or did one hell of a lot of in-depth research.  As with all great books, I found myself trying to find time to keep reading more, became absorbed into the story and the characters, and then felt sad when it was over.  This is a book that I will read again in a couple of years.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    one of my absolute favorite writers, had written this shallow shoot-em-up I'd have ...
  

*by M***N on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 6, 2015*

If anyone but Michael Gruber, one of my absolute favorite writers, had written this shallow shoot-em-up I'd have probably given it another star. I suspect it was written in hopes of a fast Hollywood sale, and for Gruber's sake I hope he gets it. In some ways it reminded me of late James Crumley--though better. Or maybe one of Don Siegel's late, lesser movies. The plot is pretty shaky, and several "surprise" endings telegraph a mile out. And in order to make the plot work, Gruber depends on several shameless deus-ex-machina twists. If you don't believe in God (or at least angels) the story will make you crazy.Having said all that, I must also in fairness say that I couldn't put it down, absolutely loved it, and plan to read it again soon. I have huge respect for Gruber; his best books are simultaneously thrilling, disturbing, and thought provoking. Whatever happened to this one on the way to the publisher, I wish Gruber best of luck on the next one--which I'll surely buy as soon as it's published.

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*Product available on Desertcart Singapore*
*Store origin: SG*
*Last updated: 2026-02-25*