There are good reviews and bad reviews, cursory ones and some that offer something that the writer hadn’t considered. The latter is the case with a review of DAMAGED GOODS by Beth Kannell, co-owner of (with her husband Dave) Kingdom Books, a specialty mystery bookshop in northeastern Vermont. Kingdom Book is one of those small stores that pack a powerful punch in terms of the love the proprietors have for writing and books.
But back to perception. Beth had some interesting thoughts on Jack and Roxanne in DAMAGED GOODS. But it was her take on their ex-Marine friend Clair that gave me pause.
“Clair’s background as a soldier in Vietnam becomes significant, not just for his ability to take up arms and his willingness to be at Jack’s back or front or whatever it takes, but also for his experience with the personal effects of violence, whether done to you or done by you. Sane and strong, Clair helps Jack maneuver and respond to the chaos around him, showing the best of what war can do to a person’s thought processes.”
What does war do to a person’s thought processes? We hear, justifiably so, about the emotional and physical trauma of combat. But what of the strengths that come from the experience? In Clair’s case, he has become wiser, more philosophical, but also more analytical. When things get tough, as they inevitably do when Jack and Clair get together, Clair becomes calmer, cooler, more collected. It’s a trait honed in the jungles and highlands of Vietnam, when, as a Force Recon Marine, those were essential survival skills. Now the same skills are brought to bear for Jack and Roxanne, their daughter Sophie. The best of what war can do …. Interesting.
In PORT CITY SHAKEDOWN, the first Brandon Blake novel, Brandon gets a full dose of bad guys. A brawl in a funeral home introduces him to Joel Fuller, a sociopathic hustler. Fuller is fresh out of jail and determined to take Brandon out—after Fuller and his sidekick Kelvin shake him down.
Rocky isn’t a tough guy. He’s a skinny little kid with crooked glasses, and he shouldn’t be homeless in Portland, Maine. When McMorrow and Roxanne pluck him from under the stomping feet of a gang of street kids, Rocky latches onto McMorrow–and drags him into a world of murder, both old and new. Why is McMorrow protecting Rocky? The cops want to know. Why is Rocky on the run? McMorrow wants to know. Why does death follow in Rocky’s wake? Jack and Roxanne need to find out before they’re added to the list. 
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