Amazon.com
After a grueling career as a New York City journalist rendered him cynical and sick of newspapers, Jack McMorrow thinks he’s found a proper place to recharge–Kennebec, Maine. But what he finds is a small town with big problems. The bars are populated with the long-term unemployed, the river is polluted, and the downtown is crumbling. If that’s not enough, as a reporter covering the courthouse, he is thrust into a messy situation in which a shoddy assistant prosecutor causes the death of a woman Jack has come to know. Though his intent was to escape such unseemly altercations, Jack jumps into the fray with a fervor, emerging with unexpected results.
From Publishers Weekly
Jack McMorrow, seen before in Bloodline and Deadline, is a former New York Times reporter now working for a small paper in Maine. Covering the courthouse, he senses a good story in Donna Marchant, a young woman complaining of domestic abuse but ignored by the autocratic assistant district attorney, Linda Tate. McMorrow writes about Donna’s plight, arousing the wrath of her loutish boyfriend, Jeff Tanner. When Donna is murdered, suspicion falls not only on Tanner but also on McMorrow, whom police suspect of having become too close to his subject. . . . Boyle, a Maine newspaper writer himself, makes McMorrow a credible crusader, equally comfortable in the quiet woods and small-town courthouses. The narrative moves briskly as McMorrow eliminates several suspects on his way to a surprise solution.
From The New York Times Book Review, Marilyn Stasio
His style is poised and pointed when he is writing about the barren lives of the hopeless cases who rattle in and out of court.
From Booklist, Wes Lukowsky
Burned-out reporter Jack McMorrow has taken to the Maine woods, where bird-watching and beer drinking occupy his days. His nights are occupied by social worker Roxanne, who can’t abide his laggardly ways, prompting McMorrow to take a part-time job as court reporter for the Kennebec Observer. It’s in court where he first meets Donna Marchant, a single mother with an abusive boyfriend. McMorrow reports on Donna’s case, and though he uses no names, the small-town citizens know who’s who. Soon Donna is murdered, and McMorrow feels responsible. After some early tentativeness, author Boyle has found McMorrow’s voice; it is only a matter time until he finds his audience. Expect the battle-weary reporter to become an old friend to his loyal readers much as Spenser or Dave Robicheaux have become with theirs.
From the Washington Times
Stay healthy, McMorrow. You’re fun to have around.
From Kirkus Reviews
In his first day on the job as court reporter for the Kennebec Observer, former Times newsman Jack files a story featuring battered Donna Marchant. Bad idea. Jeff Tanner, the ex-boyfriend responsible for Donna’s bruises and bite marks, returns to tell her he’ll kill both her and McMorrow, and he and some friends pay a call on McMorrow, too. . . . For all his manly virtue, you can’t help liking the guy.
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. 
Facebook
Twitter
RSS