Customer Reviews

Lifeline

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Once again I was drawn into the world of Jack McMorrow, journalist-turned-detective. And once again, I was struck by how I could so much come to care about a character enmired in a plot for which I cared so little. In this latest whodunnit, McMorrow again has us trudging around Maine in search of justice in a sea of lowlifes at times so two-dimensional as to be almost laughable. One cannot help but like the McMorrow character, though, whose love for nature, plain truth, good beer, dependable friends, and the written word is exceeded only, perhaps, by his taste for confrontation. The plot, however, is like a joke with a long-winded set-up and a punchline that does not pay off. It was a page-turner and I was going nuts in my attempt to solve the mystery as I read. But all of the chapters that precede the last are but a distraction and in no way drive the story. It was like searching all over the house for your keys and then realizing you had them in your hand. It doesn't all come together the way, I think, mysteries of more calibur do. Our author sets us up in the beginning and releases us in the end but uses all the intervening pages to follow his stream of thought on the subject of birds, romantic relationships, and rednecks. Maybe he thinks we won't mind because he's thrown in a house-fire and a kidnapping here and there. And by the way, I'm pretty sure this is the 3rd time our hero is abducted in as many novels. It's enough already with the abductions. Plus, the end had me, at least, a little disappointed with McMorrow's zeal for the truth because he basically winds up perpetuating a lie at the expense of another man's freedom. And even though this was done with the intention to protect another, I found it morally questionable and disagree that it was necessary. Lastly, as our author ages, too, the McMorrow character seems increasingly conservative and dull. At the end of the first book we were left expecting an end to his relationship with the redoubtable Roxanne. I was hoping for a new woman per story a la Mike Hammer. Would I read another McMorrow mystery? Will my girlfriend once again mock me for my loyalty to the series that so often disappoints me? 'Maybe' to the former question and an undeniably 'yes' to the latter.

Boyle's evocative writing style draws the reader into the desperate lives of the denizens of small town Maine. In this, his third Jack McMorrow mystery, the dispirited former NY Times reporter, becomes intrigued by a domestic abuse victim after she shocks the district court by baring her scars before the judge. McMorrow's search for the woman behind the news story brings him in conflict with a powerful and manipulative district attorney. The intriguing young victim is found dead and McMorrow is tormented by the fear that his attention led to her death. As in his earlier novels, Jack McMorrow tangles with local thugs, who torch his house and beat him mercilessly. His faithful girlfriend, Roxanne, returns but is shaken by McMorrow's apparent attraction to the hapless people of the Maine the tourists never see. Gerry Boyle's masterful prose and insightful depiction of his characters make this Jack McMorrow series a must read for mystery fans

I think that this is a great book. I am from a big city and am used to sarcasm. McMorrow takes sarcasm to its limit. Sometimes I can't stop laughing at the things he says. The action in this books just does not stop, either. I couldn't put the book down. I had to know what was going t happen next.

Disaffected journalist Jack McMorrow, formerly of The New York Times, takes a job as court reporter for the Maine Kennebec Observer. But, unwilling to report the docket as supplied by the local district attorney, McMorrow runs a story about Donna Marchant, an abused woman, and the boyfriend the system seems unwilling to protect her from.

Threatened by the drunken boyfriend and the angry D.A. and warned off by the paper's staid editor, McMorrow finds himself getting more personally involved with Donna Marchant than his longtime girlfriend Roxanne appreciates. When Marchant is murdered, her thuggish boyfriend is the natural suspect but McMorrow isn't satisfied. And soon, he too is a suspect - and the focus of some dangerous thugs.

Boyle supplies plenty of action and a view of the seamy as well as the serene side of rural Maine life.

Boyle's career as a journalist is evident in his novels. The Jack McMorrow tales are as gripping as any crime thrillers out there 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."

Book wasn't quite in the condition I expected. Seller responded and made me happy. I was very impressed and highly recommend this seller.