From Publishers Weekly
Boyle’s effective, low-key sequel to Deadline brings back ex-New York Times reporter Jack McMorrow, who is making a habit of getting in trouble in his new home in Prosperity, Maine. Jack has taken a high-paying assignment from New England Look magazine to write an article on “Kids Having Kids.” Poking about a nearby high school leads him to Missy Hewett, who gave up her baby for adoption before moving to Prosperity where she intends to finish her schooling. . . . Boyle deftly establishes mood and setting, clearly defines his characters and offers lots of reflection from Jack, whose subdued first-person narration gives this solid mystery an intimate, small-town air.
From School Library Journal
“Kids having kids” is not a subject with which Jack McMorrow, a 38-year-old former New York Times writer transplanted to rural Maine, is familiar. Living a solitary existence off a steadily dwindling retirement fund in a bat-infested house and spending his days bird-watching and drinking beer, however, make the offer of a freelance job look pretty good. Jack accepts, thus setting out on a road that leads to harassment, violence, cover-up, and murder. Boyle writes evocatively of rural life in all of its manifestations and, along with his very real characterizations and sly, subtle humor, offers readers much more than simply a good story. Robert B. Parker enthusiasts will welcome the advent of Jack McMorrow.
From Booklist, Wes Lukowsky
Jack McMorrow is a former New York Times reporter mending his soul in rural Maine. But a man’s gotta eat, so when an offer comes to do a story on teenage motherhood, Jack accepts. He starts with Missy Hewitt, a local girl who recently gave her baby up for adoption. She supplies Jack with several sensible reasons for her decision, but a couple of days later, she leaves Jack a message saying she wants to get her baby back. Then she turns up murdered, and before you can say phone trace, the cops are viewing Jack as a suspect. . . . This second entry in the McMorrow series is an improvement over the first, Deadline (1993). McMorrow is less a collection of traits and quirks and much more a fully realized character. There’s also an intriguing cast of secondary characters who bode well for future McMorrow adventures.
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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