Customer Reviews

Port City Shakedown: A Brandon Blake Crime Novel (Brandon Blake Mysteries)

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

 

 

Port City Shakedown: A Brandon Blake Crime Novel (Brandon Blake Mysteries)

GREAT NEW SERIES FOR GERRY BOYLE! Though I was not in a hurry to read this book (my husband surprised me with a just-released first volume) I found it very tough to put down.
I'm a big fan of Boyle's Jack McMorrow series; probably because it smacks of reality, takes place in the small rural Maine county where I live (so I should know!), and features an engaging and very likeable character who keeps pushing forward when many would quit.
I frankly did not expect to like the new character, Brandon Blake, nearly as much as I did. What a great surprise! After chewing through the story, I couldn't wait for my husband to read it...I knew he'd like it as much as I did. One great proof of how good a book is is how in depth we discuss it later. We both are looking forward to the next one.
For you Boyle fans, Jack McMorrow he's not, but Brandon IS a fresh, young and delightfully mature young man who doesn't quit when the chips are down.

I just finished reading Gerry Boyle's newest book and, like his other books, I couldn't put it down. I was interested to see what Boyle would do with a new main character after enjoying the previous Jack McMorrow series. Brandon Blake is a great new character for Boyle - he can keep up with the action that makes Boyle's books so fun to read. This book also gave Boyle a chance to show a different side of Portland. I could picture every move Blake made and enjoyed imagining his life on Casco Bay. Now I'm looking forward to more from Boyle with Brandon Blake. This one's a definite must-read!

The hero here just feels right. Feet of clay. Needs growth. Not any abnormal excessive baggage. This could be fun following this series. The losers rang true. The heroes could be people we know. Good job.

First Sentence: It was a little after five on a cold afternoon in May.

Brandon Blake never knew his father, his mother died when he was four, he has been taking care of his alcoholic grandmother and himself since he was 10. He lives on an old wooden Chris Craft in Portland Harbour, is putting himself through college one class at a time paying cash, wants to be a cop and rides along as an intern. One ride along results in Brandon becoming the target of a violent ex-con. His grand...more First Sentence: It was a little after five on a cold afternoon in May.

Brandon Blake never knew his father, his mother died when he was four, he has been taking care of his alcoholic grandmother and himself since he was 10. He lives on an old wooden Chris Craft in Portland Harbour, is putting himself through college one class at a time paying cash, wants to be a cop and rides along as an intern. One ride along results in Brandon becoming the target of a violent ex-con. His grandmother sees a man who was on the boat that disappeared with Brandon's mother. The more Brandon gets to know him, the more questions are raised.

I've been a fan of Boyle's McMorrow series since the first book so I was a bit uncertain when I saw this was the beginning of a new series. I should have known better. I started this book at 10 p.m. thinking I would just read the first few pages and closed the book at 2 a.m. having finished it. Some authors write an excellent opening sentence or paragraph. With Boyle, it was the first chapter, and then the second chapter, and on.

I love Maine. Part of the reason I started reading Boyle is that his books are set there. From them, it's clear that Boyle, who does live there, loves Maine as well as he provides a strong sense of the state. I appreciated that he included a bit of Portland's history and, in Blake, a sense of the people.

Boyle has created terrific new characters. Blake is in his 20s, but has virtually raised and educated himself since he was ten and has set a future for himself. In spite of his grandmother's alcoholism, he loves her and takes care of her. This is a character which has tremendous potential and for which I can see a long life. Mia, his girlfriend, had a comfortable childhood yet, in her own way, is as much on her own and fits well with Blake. I do hope the author doesn't get trite and kill her off at some point. But Boyle doesn't stop with his primary characters, as his secondary characters are full-developed as well.

It is always a bit jarring going from reading English/French authors to reading American authors. The European style of mystery, even when police procedurals or suspense, tends to be more in your head, where the American style is more in your face. The plot was not subtle, but it was exciting and suspenseful with very good twists and a very well-done ending.

The book lost a point from me for a bit too much foreshadowing, and there was one small scene at the grandmothers I felt was unnecessary as the suspense was already there this particular inclusion was unnecessary, but that was minor.

I look forward to many more books with Brandon Blake. For those of us who loved, and will miss, the writing of Robert Parker, I'm glad we have Gerry Boyle.

PORT CITY SHAKEDOWN (Sus-Brandon Blake-Portland, ME, Cont) - VG+
Boyle, Gerry - 1st in series
Down East, ©2009, US Hardcover - ISBN; 9780892727957

Very good. Interesting characters and good plot. I live in southern Maine so it was fun to
Read about local spots. I immediately ordered the second Brandon Blake book by Gerry
Boyle and enjoyed that one as much as the first. Highly recommend it.

Gerry Boyle is a writer's writer. That means that other writers will consider the technical aspects of his writing superb. And they are - especially his ear for dialog.

In Port City Shake Down, Boyle's lead character Brandon Blake is riding with a Portland cop as part of his training. They travel down Commercial Street past the ferry terminal and turn the police cruiser toward the water. Brandon points to the South Portland marina across the harbor.

"I'm right over there," he said.

Griffin pulled over and they sat, the radio chirping softly, like a baby bird in a nest.

"Where?" Griffin said.

Brandon pointed out over the harbor, white mooring buoys, showing against the blue water, the surface rippled like sand on a beach. Brandon loved to watch the way the wind played with water, never the same way twice.

"See all those boats? I have a slip over there."

"You live on a freakin' boat?"

"Yeah."

Griffin looked at him again, more closely.

"What is it? A yacht?"

"An old Chris-Craft. A cabin cruiser, you'd call it."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why don't you live in a house?"

"Kind of a long story," Brandon said.

Griffin stared across the harbor at the tangled nest of masses and moorings. "Winter too?"

"Sure," Brandon said. "You frame it in with plastic. Heat it with propane."

"Don't think that I could do that," Griffin said. "Claustrophobic, you know?"

"It's not for everyone."

Just like living on a boat isn't for everyone, neither is this book. Don't get me wrong - it's exceptionally well written. The characters are true to life, the plot is engaging, and the descriptions of Portland are accurate.

Boyle is an experienced writer with five other novels under his belt. His previous books were written in the first person and featured a journalist named McMorrow who lived in western Maine. This novel is a departure; it's written in the third person and is centered in Portland and its surrounding towns.

Boyle is a past newspaper writer and is currently editor of Colby Magazine published by Colby College. And for me at least, that's the problem. I've read several of Boyle's books and have always been struck by how they read like a newspaper article: expertly written but more informative than entertaining.

I see Boyle's books much like a police investigation: plodding, methodical, single-minded and dogged. He writes a fine mystery - but it lacks the pace, intensity and suspense of a thriller.

Good intentions never go unpunished. "Port City Shake Down" is the first Brandon Blake mystery from Gerry Boyle. As protagonist Brandon Blake begins to learn of the world of law enforcement and quickly makes powerful enemies, he gets a crash course he never asked for. An exciting mystery of rookie detective work, "Port City Shake Down" is a recommended read for anyone looking for a new mystery series to enjoy.

I hadn't read a mystery in quite a while and had forgotten the unique pleasure of vicarious adventure. Brandon Blake is a marvelous new creation, an aspiring cop with a heartbreaking past. The story clips along in exquisite suspense, partly because Boyle is great at plotting and partly because we come to care deeply about Brandon and his girlfriend. A wonderful "debut" by a seasoned writer who knows his business. --Monica Wood

I have been a fan of Gerry Boyle and his Jack McMorrow books for many years. It's a great series, wonderful characters, super writing. I expected a really good read in Port City Shake Down -- introducing a new character, Brandon Blake, in the first of a series. I was extremely disappointed. In fact, I couldn't even finish the book. I'm glad this was not the first book of Mr. Boyle's that I encountered, because I wouldn't read any more of his work based on this one. The characters seem unformed, even childish. The story is set set in a city I love, and work in, Portland, Maine. Even that didn't help.

I'm sure this is an aberration and I certainly won't give up on Mr. Boyle. But I gave up on this particular book after only about 20 minutes of reading.

I know it's wrong to rant about price on the review, but I tried the other avenues and no one is paying attention. I didn't buy the kindle to pay full price. This is author greed. I've read most of Boyle's, but not anymore. I plan to do this on some of my other favorite authors that are trying to gauge.