When DEADLINE was published there were newspaper reviews. Now there are online reviews. To which do you give more weight?
June 23rd, 2010
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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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Have to say online; the only paper I read – irregularly- doesn’t review books. (Or doesn’t on the days I have my hands on one.)
And therein lies the problem, Patrick. Most newspapers don’t review books anymore (one of the first things to go in the economic downturn). So how to get the word out? Which online review sites do you readers see?
Gerry,
I always read the NYT movie reviews, and the book reviews as well. I also google reviews of books, and read anything that seems to be a reputable paper or critic. But I never read them until after I’ve finished the book/movie, due to the spoilers. That probably seems backwards to people, reading the reviews after reading the book or seeing the movie, but I like to see if my opinions jive with the “experts’”.
What about you?
Andrea
I see the AP national reviews, and NYT reviews. If something sounds interesting, I’ll make a mental note. I tend to read reviews of nonfiction and to stay away from crime/mystery reviews. I don’t want other writers’ plots in my head too much, which is why I tend to read writers who are long dead. I stay away from reviews of my own books. If there is a good one in a prominent place (like the Publishers Weekly for DAMAGED GOODS, I’ll hear about it. I’ve been warned by other writers that you can actually start writing in reaction to reviews, what they liked, what they didn’t, and it can mess you up. You don’t want that added layer of self-consciousness.
That’s very interesting, and it sounds like what actors go through…changing in response to what the critics have (to say must be very tempting. But I had never considered having to avoid your own genre for fear of absorbing some of their ideas. It makes it easier to swallow Dan Brown’s story) I suppose it makes sense, but it seems like a shame that you can’t read other contemporary writers very often, and I would think that you would like crime fiction best since you write it!
Well, at least Tony Hillerman is dead now, so you can read his books. I LOVE him