Customer Reviews

Silent Joe

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Meet Joe Trona, a scarred man.

As a child, Joe had acid thrown on his face by his biological father. Spending much of his youth in an orphanage, Joe, is rescued by politician Will Trona. Tormented by the nightmares of his childhood, Joe, welcomes the love, and acceptance given to him by his new family.

At twenty-four, Joe, now a cop, is his adoptive father's biggest fan. As the ever enthusiastic supporter of Will, he helps his father with his political career, but on an evening of "night business", things go terribly wrong leaving Will dead.

On what started as a mission to rescue a kidnapped girl, turns into a storm of violence, lies, and deception...with Joe wondering if he knew his adoptive father at all.

While trying to find his father's killer, and locate the missing girl, Joe, will uncover all the secrets that Will kept hidden, and he will be forced to face the painful memories of his childhood.

"Silent Joe" is another explosive novel from T.Jefferson Parker. While a suspenseful, page-turning thriller, it is much more, for at the heart of the novel lies the examination of love, and the power of man's spirit to overcome tragedy. With it's strong characters, powerful plot, and strong narrative "Silent Joe" races at break-neck speed to a statisfying conclusion.

T. Jefferson Parker has been consistent with churning out fresh thrillers, and "Silent Joe" is no exception. Although a depature from the style of his previous thrillers, Mr. Parker keeps the pages turning by throwing in twists at every turn.

A MUST read!

Nick Gonnella

Last summer when his previous novel, RED LIGHT, was in its initial release, I had the rare honor of appearing on the same Round Table West luncheon program in Newport Beach as T. Jefferson Parker. As the author of a recently published mystery set in Orange County, I had the privilege of speaking to our Balboa Bay Club audience immediately before Mr. Parker. During my talk, I stated that Jeff Parker is the author who has taught all the rest of us Orange County mystery writers how to write about our unique region of Southern California.

SILENT JOE continues to prove my point. It is a marvelously complex mystery that is Parker's strongest book to date. It will move him securely into the major league of crime fiction writers with the likes of Sue Grafton, Robert Crais, Sara Paretsky, and Robert B. Parker. In its complexity, it even reminds me of the works of the genre's immortals such as Hammett, Chandler, and Macdonald.

Joe Trona was scarred for life by an acid attack at the hands of his biological father. He is adopted and nurtured by Will Trona, a local politico. When Joe grows up, he aspires to a career in law enforcement. He works in the Orange County jail and moonlights as driver/bodyguard for Will Trona. Will Trona is murdered. Joe wants to avenge the murder of the man who contributed the most to the person he has become. During his investigation, Silent Joe finds himself entangled in the kidnapping of a tycoon's daughter, the murder of two Latino immigrants, and a political corruption scheme. He uncovers long-bured secrets involving Will and himself.

SILENT JOE is an extraordinary work by an extraordinary author. With every book he writes, Jeff Parker continues to show the rest of us Orange County mystery writers how to write about Orange County. Parker's best!

If you haven't read T. Jefferson Parker, you're in for a treat. If you have, you'll want to read this one--it's a definite winner.

At four, Joe Trona was burned by acid, then adopted by Will and Mary Ann. Now, 24, he is a Deputy Sheriff and helps Will with little things like driving him between meetings, bugging offices, and dropping off ransom money.

Will is on his way to pick up a kidnapping victim when gunmen open fire, killing him. Joe feels responsible and vows to bring 'justice.' Of course, justice is a tricky concept. Will was involved in blackmail and definitely dirty politics in Orange County, CA. Joe won't be able to protect his father's memory and still send his killers to jail. Certainly he has no end of opportunities to get rich quick, though, if he will back off. Too many of his father's old political allies and enemies had reason to fear Will, reason to kill him.

T. Jefferson Parker writes a fast-paced story. He deftly weaves together several mysteries--the murder, the kidnapping, an apparently accidental death of a maid, and develops Joe as a complex and believable character.

Not many books make me want to call in sick to work just so I can finish them. I can't tell you how tempted I was to do just this with this fine novel.

Parker's new novel has all the qualities of what I tell my writing students qualifies as good literature: (1) a world so real the reader becomes a part of it and forgets that he is reading; (2) a plot so compelling and seamless that the reader is carried on its current; (3) characters complex and real enough that the reader believes he knows them personally and can learn from their triumphs and failures; and (4) a life-changing but undefinable quality that leaves the reader at the end a better person than before he read the book.

I have followed Parker's writing since his first novel, Laguna Heat (actually, I was in one of the same writing seminars he was in at the MFA program at UCI in the early-mid 1970s, but neither of us was grown up at the time). I thought then that he had the potential to become one of the best mainstream novelists in America, and Silent Joe continues to confirm my estimation.

I waited until the weekend to begin the book because I knew I wouldn't be able to put it down, and I was almost right. When I got within 50 pages of the end, I set the book down, cleaned the house, washed the dishes, checked my e-mail and played 50 games of double free cell so that I wouldn't have to finish the story. Then I picked it up again and finished. What a triumph! What a wonderful story! I can't think of what could be criticized in any major way -- plot, setting, rhythm, vocabulary, characterization, theme, descriptions, dialogue, -- all of it is superb.

And I will "steal" some of the best lines like how Joe described his reaction to June, the radio journalist he was "attracted to" -- "My heart started thumping like a washing machine with a bad leg."

I just read T. Jefferson Parker's new book "Silent Joe". What a great book! I've read his other books and enjoyed them, but this one is even better. While it's called a mystery it's really much more.

It's the story of a young man who was horribly scarred as an infant by an abusive father, abandoned by his mother and raised in an institution for the early years of his life. As a young sheriff's deputy he witnesses the murder of the man who adopted him and becomes determined to find the killer. Along the way he finds his past and his future.

The book is remarkable for it's ability to take you into Joe's mind. You feel his thought process, you feel his pain and see how even bad experiences can result in a good man.

I found myself trying to read slowly to savor the words. Days later I can't stop thinking about it. I still think the only bad part was that it had to end.

T. Jefferson Parker can write! That's all there is to it. All of his novels are wonderful complex stories of mystery and suspense. I believe that "Silent Joe" was his best novel! Almost all of Mr. Parker's novels take place in Southern California, which is also enjoyable. The plot: Joe Trona is politician Will Trona's personal assistant and son. Will and Joe are on the way to pick up Savannah Blazak, who was kidnapped by her brother, Alex, and held for ransom until Savannah and Alex's parents pay Alex. They called in Will Trona to drop off the money. While getting out of his car, Will is confronted by a group of about four people who shoot Will dead. Savannah hears the shot and runs away, while Alex disappears. Joe Trona is determined to figure out who killed his father and get Savannah back. Who is the criminal? Is it crime boss and head of a major gang John Gaylen? Is it Bo Warren the Blazak's personal guard? Could it be Mr. Rupaski another politican who holds a grudge against Will? Joe is determined to find out, even if it means killing!

There is much to be learned when you keep your mouth shut. Working as a body guard for his adoptive father horribly scarred silent Joe took everything in. He learned not to talk, but to listen. Joe became an invisible man. This unfortunately served him well, when it came time for him to track the murderers of one crime he did not want to contemplate.

T. Jefferson Parker presents a world of wheeling and dealing politicians ensconced in southern California. They are all ready to sell their souls and then some. It is a creepy surreal world through which silent Joe creeps.

Silent Joe is a wonderful creature, who I hope to see in future books. Joe is a man who should be repulsive, but has that unknown thing which draws women. He is an intricate man, who the reader would gladly follow on endless adventure.

The plot touches on themes of love, redemption, forgiveness and revenge. which of these contradicting emotions might win over? Read Silent Joe and find out.

This is a recommended book for lovers of hard-boiled mystery.

When he was nine months old, his father poured acid on his face, scarring Joe for life. For the next four years, Joe lived in an orphanage until Will and Mary Ann Trona adopted him. Twenty years later, Joe works as a jailer for the Orange County prisons system and as a driver-bodyguard for his beloved father Will, now a county superintendent.

Joe drives Will to a dark area where the latter picks up a frightened twelve-year-old girl named Savannah. However, before they leave, gang members accost them, killing Will. Joe kills two of them while Savannah flees into the night. Joe quickly learns that the deadly Cobra Kings murdered Will. Joe finds out that Savannah was a kidnapping victim, but cannot see the link to Will. Feeling guilty over his failure to protect Will and a need to rescue Savannah, Joe begins to make inquiries. His investigation takes Joe way beyond the Cobra Kings to an uglier picture of his benefactor and a return to his own childhood nightmares.

SILENT JOE is a fabulously complex blending of psychological suspense with a private investigative tale that works because of the main character. The suspense-loaded story line centers on the heroic, but scarred (emotionally as much as his visage) Joe, who is learning more about himself, and his adoptive father and family even while deliberately stepping deeper into danger. T. Jefferson Parker always writes a page-turner, but this is the award-winning author's best novel and hopefully Joe will return for another engagement.

Harriet Klausner

I read some of T. Jefferson Parker's books in the past and none of them have made any impact with me. SILENT JOE is his best novel and I am glad that it got the Edgar nomination for Best Novel of the Year.

This is the story of Joe Trona, a young man working as a jailer and as a jack-of-all-trades for Will Trona, his adoptive father as well as a local politician. When Joe was a baby his father physically disfigured him by throwing acid on his face. Due to the physical abuse he is separated from his family and put in a group home. Several years later he makes the acquaintance of Will Trona and his wife and is adopted shortly thereafter. Joe is very happy with his life, he has a job he likes, owns his home, and loves his family. Unfortunately at the beginning of the novel, his adoptive father is murdered right in front of him and he is going to do everything in his power to find out whom had his father killed and what was his motive.

Mr. Parker does an excellent job in showing Joe's innocence and naivete. This does not make the main character any weaker but stronger. He is always true to himself and will not do anything that it is out of character for him. He is trustworthy and very loyal. In this book there is a lot of supporting characters that help enhance the story line. This book is well written and I hope to see more of it in the future. I hope the author decides to bring Joe Trona back in a new novel or a short story. For someone who did not like Parker's previous work, I am looking forward to his next book.

Joe Trona, 24 yrs old, deputy who works in the Orange County jail system witnesses the murder of his adoptive father. But this is no ordinary murder.

Joe Trona, who had his face terribly scarred as an infant was adopted at the age of five by Will and Mary Trona. Will, an Orange County Public figure raised Joe unlike his other siblings. Joe was privy to the secrets his father kept and the political circles his father ran around in. Joe honed his skills in fighting and marksmanship at the personal sacrifice of 'fitting in' with a society that judges more to appearance than someone's substance.

In investigating the murder of his father, Joe learns that his father was not the Robin Hood character he portrayed himself to be. Just as Joe thinks he gets closer to learning the identity of the murder, he discovers a very intricate web of lies, deceit, and conspiracy that his father tried to just stay slightly ahead of all these years. Was his father a saint, or was he something else that only Joe can decide.

Throw in a kidnapped girl, a crazy brother, and a violent rich father of the two aforementioned, and the story gets deeper. This all takes place in Orange County, CA, with actual locations (I know.I live here.). Mr. Parkers descriptions and moods are very accurate to the locals he places his characters in.

Overall the story was very entertaining, and one of the best mysteries I have read in a long time. Each chapter had me changing my mind on who the killer was and the motivation. Every suspect threw in a new monkey wrench and the plot got thicker and thicker. There were other supporting characters that added new dimensions to Joe as well, and you wouldnt consider them filler material. Loved it.

What was really keen about this novel was most of it was told from the perspective of Joe. Through his tortured eyes and life he needs to separate fact from fiction, who's manipulating who, and most importantly a new discovery of emotions he has kept under wraps his whole life from his dramatic injury and scarring. He learns much about himself over the course of the investigation, which proves how great a writer T. Jefferson Parker can be.

Silent Joe moved at a good pace, was always interesting, many plot twists, and a surprise ending that was very rewarding to the reader. One of Mr. Parker's best to date!!