Customer Reviews

Home Body (Jack McMorrow Mystery)

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was the weakest addition to the McMorrow series by Boyle. He has produced consistently underappreciated "mystery" novels in the series and McMorrow is a very interesting protagonist, who we the reader have come to know and grow with througout the series.

The novel centers around McMorrow's borderline obsession with a young boy living on the streets named Rocky, and McMorrow's quest to find out why the boy is on the streets and what his story is for being on the streets.

Rocky incessantly appears to McMorrow and then disappears everytime leaving questions unanswered, but Jack (McMorrow) still chases after him. The story is rather slow, Rocky is not a sympathetic character, though at times sympathy is attempted to be induced by Boyle. The characters are not altogether interesting, the story is slow, and we learn nothing of value about Jack, or Roxanne for that matter, except they are expecting a baby.

I think this was just a speed bump for Boyle. He is a great author and I will read whatever he decides to put out next, but for first time readers of McMorrow's exploits, start with another book from the series, any book from the series, because they are all far, far superior to this outing.

He was a hotshot reporter for the New York Times but now Jack McMorrow freelances for some New England papers and works as a copy editor for the Maine Clarion because his lover is pregnant and they need the medical benefits. Jack and Roxanne see some older kids beating up someone younger. Jack breaks it up and tries to get Rocky to talk to him but he runs away. Roxanne says Rocky seems troubled but warns Jack not to get involve because they will soon have their own baby to worry about.

When Jack goes home, he finds Rocky there and feeds him but Rocky disappears when the police show up. Jack tracks him down and from the little Rocky says he's afraid to go home because of his step-father but misses his mother very much. The step-father tracks down Jack and their confrontation makes the reporter believe that he wants to find Rocky because the kid knows something that could get the old man in trouble. In the meantime, Jack protects Rocky, deals with the police who think he might be a child molester and the killer of a young teen who befriended the lad.

Gerry Boyle has written an exciting crime thriller with a protagonist who looks like a suspect because he wants to help a young person in trouble. It is a sad commentary on society that a Samaritan is looked upon with suspicion by the authorities. The family secret that Rocky discovers starts a domino affect that leads to kidnapping, suicide, and murder, with the hero smack in the middle of the situation. HOME BODY is well written, believable and has more twists and turns than a roller coaster.

Harriet Klausner

Boyle does a wonderful job with setting, providing a real picture of the cities and towns of Maine yet the solitude, which exists immediately outside them, and the cold of winter. You also feel Jack's reluctance to become involved with Rocky yet his inability to walk away. There is a strong element of pathos to this story, but it's still suspenseful and a page-turner.

Home Body is another solid effort from Gerry Boyle. This is the eighth title in the Jack McMorrow series, and I have read them all without being disappointed. McMorrow is a former New York Times reporter who works for small-town newspapers in New England and freelances. He has a knack for putting his nose where it doesn't belong.

Boyle does his usual fine job of keeping the pace moving, unfolding an interesting story, and giving the reader a sense of small-town Maine. I think Home Body, however, could have been 50 pages shorter and not suffered. This series is definitely worth a reader's time.

Boyle's career as a journalist is evident in his novels. The Jack McMorrow tales are as gripping as any crime thrillers and Boyle's work on the streets ensures that his books are authentic and gritty. Read one, you'll want to read them all.
-- Mark LaFlamme, author of "The Pink Room."