Hey all. Last stop at Maine Maritime Museum in Searsport was a fun one. Great spot, nice people. Nothing else schedule for now so back to writing. Speaking of which, I’m over at the Maine Crime Writers blog today, talking about writing movie scripts. Check it out.
Reviews
December 13th, 2011
July 10th, 2010
Going Coastal
Today was Boothbay Book Fest. Nice people. Met some old friends, made some new ones. Tuesday is Witherle Memorial Library in beautiful and historic Castine, Maine. 7 p.m. Writers series. I’m No. 2. But I try harder.
Speaking of Holland (was I?), DAMAGED GOODS was noticed by a Dutch noir reviewer, Jochem Van De Steen. He liked it, and made the Robert B. Parker comparison. It’s global, I guess. Check out the review and leave a comment so he knows he’s being read by McMorrow’s readers here as well.
May 18th, 2010
Another nod to Robert B. Parker, and off to Portsmouth
The comparisons first came years ago and continue to come. I’m flattered and not a little pleased. Robert B. Parker was arguably the best at what he did so well for so long. This, from Publishers Weekly, May 17, says DAMAGED GOODS, evokes some of Spenser. Fast company, indeed.
“Robert Parker fans who have yet to discover Boyle will be pleasantly surprised by his suspenseful ninth crime novel set in Maine featuring former New York Times reporter Jack McMorrow. … Boyle has succeeded in creating a likable lead whose sense of responsibility is reminiscent of Spenser as well as supporting characters with depth.”
I wrote about Bob Parker and his early and generous assistance in an earlier post. Scroll down.
Next stop is RiverRun Books in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Thursday, May 20, at 7 p.m. It’s my birthday. Come by and help blow out the candles. Or at least say hi and stay a bit for a chat.
November 24th, 2009
Off to the Printer
DAMAGED GOODS went to the printer last week. I’m excited about this one.
McMorrow and Roxanne and their daughter Sophie go up against a crazed Satanist father; McMorrow brings home an injured prostitute with a mysterious past. Foxes, raccoons, and now a hooker. Roxanne is less than pleased.
So after all of the editing, copy editing, back and forth, it’s on its way. Kind of like pushing a kid down a slide. Away it goes. DAMAGED GOODS will hit stores in March. The last step was asking for endorsements for the jacket. My editor, Michael Steere at Down East Books, printed out a handful of manuscripts, sent them off to writers we both respect. C.J. Box, whose finely crafted mysteries are as rugged as all outdoors, said,
“Gerry Boyle’s DAMAGED GOODS started working on me like a confident boxer would: setting me up with jabs, circling, feinting this way and that, sucking me in, and then … finishing with a wild flurry. A terrific thriller with terrifically original characters.”
Tess Gerritsen, whose thrillers keep half the world on edge, said,
“DAMAGED GOODS is so compelling, it’s like literary crack — I simply couldn’t stop reading. Gerry Boyle’s twisting plot simply won’t let you go. If you want a book that will keep you up all night, this is it!”
Jabbing and feinting. Literary crack. (Am I trafficking in crime novels?) Interesting similies to describe that feeling of being absolutely gripped by a fictional world, don’t you think? We all know that feeling. How would you describe it?
July 1st, 2009
Booklist on Brandon Blake
The theme continues to emerge: there’s way more to Brandon Blake than we know yet. Booklist, the library trade reviewer, likes Brandon a lot. And they wonder how he’ll grow as we watch him in future books. Writes reviewer David Pitt: “We get the impression that Boyle has barely scratched (Blake’s) surface here. It will be interesting to see whether he takes Blake in the usual amateur-sleuth direction or if he has something a bit more unusual in store for him. Keep your eyes on this one.”
I have a general idea, as I enter the last two months or so of research: riding with Portland P.D., meeting some good police officers. Watching the waterfront scene. Thinking a lot about Mia and Brandon, how young people grow up together in a relationship. Or do they grow apart? What is it that keeps a couple together? What happens when terrible things happen all around them? Do they succumb to collateral damage?
June 3rd, 2009
The first interview
A first interview about PORT CITY SHAKEDOWN. Sada Reed, features editor of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel, came to the house and we talked for a long while about Brandon Blake vs. McMorrow. Sada asked some thoughtful questions. a couple of them made me stop and think about just how different these two guys are. You can read it here.
January 1st, 2000
January 1st, 1996
January 1st, 1995
January 1st, 1993
Port City Black and White
Brandon Blake No. 2!
After his harrowing adventures in PORT CITY SHAKEDOWN, in PORT CITY BLACK AND WHITE Brandon has achieved his dream of becoming a rookie cop with the Portland P.D. But it’s a tough job for any cop and Brandon is a rookie—with a beautiful girlfriend waiting on his aging cabin cruiser and some serious baggage. With his mentor Kat at his side, Brandon plunges into a world of drug addicts and homeless, scheming grifters and East End hipsters, trust-funders and immigrants, ambitious entrepreneurs and killers from away. When a baby vanishes from the apartment of his crack-addled mother, Brandon and Kat join the all-out search. As they search for the missing baby they begin to unravel of web of duplicity and deceit.
Want a taste? Read Chapter 1.
What the reviewers are saying:
“Gripping … Boyle’s assured writing and non-cookie-cutter lead are big pluses and portend well for future entries.”—Publishers Weekly
“Boyle’s first Brandon Blake novel (Port City Shakedown, 2009) was well received, and this second installment is compelling and nuanced.”—Booklist
“… a dialogue-driven book sprinkled with diamond-sharp description. Calling it fast-paced is an understatement. This mystery gallops.”—Maine Sunday Telegram
“The Brandon Blake Port City series will be a classic, showing the reality of New England coast life — a mix of myth and painful reality.”—Beth Kanell, Kingdom Books
“Genuine dialogue is the most notable strength in Boyle’s writing.”—Aislinn Sarnacki, Bangor Daily News
“Boyle sure can write and he has earned his praise from the late Robert Parker as ‘the genuine article.’” The Free Press
Purchase PORT CITY BLACK AND WHITE
I always ask readers to purchase my books from their local independent bookseller, whenever possible. Purchase through Indiebound.org
Purchase from Down East Books.
Purchase from Amazon.com.
Damaged Goods
“Robert Parker fans who have yet to discover Boyle will be pleasantly surprised by his suspenseful ninth crime novel set in Maine featuring former New York Times reporter Jack McMorrow. … Boyle has succeeded in creating a likable lead whose sense of responsibility is reminiscent of Spenser as well as supporting characters with depth.” –Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“DAMAGED GOODS is so compelling, it’s like literary crack–I simply couldn’t stop reading.”
–Tess Gerritsen, author of THE KEEPSAKE.
“A terrific thriller with terrifically original characters.”
- C.J. Box, Edgar-winning author of NOWHERE TO RUN
I always ask readers to purchase my books from their local independent bookseller. Purchase through indiebound.org
Purchase DAMAGED GOODS from Down East Books
Purchase DAMAGED GOODS from Amazon
Port City Shakedown
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.
And if Brandon’s present isn’t enough to contend with, his tragic past comes alive. If his mother died when a yacht went down with all hands, why is one of the presumed-dead crew suddenly walking the streets of Portland? Soon Brandon, and his writer friend Mia, realize that the only thing they know is that nothing is as it seems.
Critics have said good things about my books. For those who like to know such things, here is a random sampling:
“Port City Shakedown is one of the best mysteries to come out of the state in recent years.”—Maine Sunday Telegram
“Brandon Blake is a solid series lead … and we get the impression that Boyle has barely scratched his surface here. … Keep your eyes on this one.”—Booklist
“Boyle keeps the legends of this cold and menacing landscape (Borderline) very much alive.”—The New York Times
“Boyle’s snappy prose stops just short of hard-boiled, letting some poignancy slip into his characters’ plights.”—Publishers Weekly
“The dialogue hums and crackles.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Wonderful supporting characters … superb writing. His feel for small-town new England is almost eerily photographic.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Gerry Boyle is the genuine article.”—Robert B. Parker
“Stunning. … The writing is sharp and evocative.”—The Washington Post Book World
“Features as much sound and fury as a summer movie blockbuster.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Fans of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels will love Jack McMorrow.”—Booklist
“Well-realized, believable characters … unusual and suspenseful.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“The author … uses his insider’s knowledge of the newspaper business to give his plot plenty of texture; he also delivers realistic characterizations, diverting subplots and evocative descriptions of rural Maine.”—Publishers Weekly
Home Body
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. More »
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