Spiked [Hardcover]

Mark Arsenault (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Reporter Eddie Bourque chases stories for the Lowell Empire, a second-class rag in a Massachusetts city of first-generation immigrants and bare-knuckled politicians. The talented and ambitious Eddie has one eye on finding a better job. However, when the dead junkie found floating in a mill canal is identified as his beat partner, he gives the story his full attention. That is, until he finds himself stonewalled by powerbrokers in Lowell law enforcement--and at his own newspaper.
Bent on finding his partner's killer, Eddie disobeys orders and follows a mysterious Cambodian woman into the city's poorest neighborhood--with violent results. Battered, dumped in a canal and left for dead, Eddie survives an encounter with an invisible underworld, only to find himself entangled in an international plot of murder and revenge.
It's do or die for Eddie as he struggles to stay one step ahead of ruthless hitmen, the city's self-serving power elite, and the curious police detective who always shows up when Eddie wishes she wouldn't. The story of a lifetime beckons, but the closer he comes to the truth, the greater the chance that the story-and Eddie will be spiked.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rhode Island journalist Arsenault, like many writers, can't resist stuffing everything he knows into his first novel, at least until the second half, when the pace picks up and the focus tightens. In the fading manufacturing city of Lowell, Mass., Eddie Bourque, a political reporter for the shoddy Lowell Empire, looks into the brutal murder of his newspaper beat partner and rival, Danny Nowlin. Bourque suspects the killing is tied to a story Nowlin was working on under cover, but the newspaper's owners, high up in Lowell's power structure, discourage Bourque from pursuing his investigation. The author brings Lowell with its slums, empty factories and vying political factions vividly alive. He peoples his novel with quirky, memorable characters: Gabrielle and Leo, two sweet, impoverished heroin addicts; Stan Popko, the Empire's computer whiz and comedian wannabe; Gordon Phife, the talented city editor with whom Bourque hits golf balls off of the newspaper building's roof; and police detective Lucy Orr, a robust, dogged investigator. As Bourque probes Nowlin's secrets, he finds a confusing assortment of violent people with conflicting motives out to get him. A fine writer, Arsenault keeps the tension building right up to the surprise ending. One hopes he's kept some good stuff for his next book.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The next city council election in Lowell, Massachusetts, will determine whether the depressed burg provides resources to its poorest residents or gentrifies them out of sight. Eddie Bourque, political reporter for a slightly disreputable afternoon paper, is all over the story--until his partner turns up dead, and editors start slanting his coverage toward the prodevelopment faction. Bourque, a gifted reporter awaiting a shot at the Boston market, ably takes on a web of corruption woven by secretive developers, crooked politicians, and maybe even his own publisher. But when the investigation threatens to expose a Cambodian war criminal, Bourque's head might hit the chopping block before his hands find a keyboard. Arsenault has a fine ear for the rhythms of a low-rent paper. He brings it to life with suitably salty characters and wonderful similes--the editor's "hands were plump and soft, like pudding in rubber gloves." Even though Bourque proves inexplicably willing to give away the biggest story of his career, his tale is mostly a front-page treat. Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 318 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press; US ed edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590580591
• ISBN-13: 978-1590580592
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,641,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Arsenault is a Shamus-nominated mystery writer, a journalist, a runner, hiker, reader, political junkie and eBay fanatic, cursed with an incurable itch to collect memorabilia from the 1939 New York World's Fair. His new novel, LOOT THE MOON, was released October 13 by St. Martin's Press. It's the second book in the Billy Povich series that began with GRAVEWRITER, a noir thriller praised for a fusion of suspense, humor and human tenderness.
Arsenault's debut novel, SPIKED, (2003, Poisoned Pen Press) was a finalist for the Shamus Award for Best First Mystery. The story was drawn from his experience as a journalist writing about heroin addicts who lived desperate lives of crime, love and addiction beneath a railroad bridge in Lowell, Massachusetts. His follow-up novel, SPEAK ILL OF THE LIVING, (2005, Poisoned Pen Press) was inspired by two years of jailhouse interviews inside "Supermax," Rhode Island's most secure prison.
With 20 years of experience as a print reporter, Arsenault is one of those weird cranks who still prefers his news on paper.
When he's not at his keyboard, you might find him backpacking up the side of a mountain.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart, funny mystery, July 31, 2003

By 

Herber Willows (Nashua, NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spiked (Hardcover)

How outstanding to find a new author producing characters with depth, intertwined in an intricate plot that's easy to follow. The aging mill city of Lowell, Mass. comes to life here as a character in the story; like the people, the city is complex and nothing is ever as it first seems. Throw in some danger, some laugh-out-loud humor and a hero a reader can get behind, and I was hooked. I look forward to Mr. Arsenault's next book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good plot, fine writing, September 5, 2003

By 

P.J. Denningan (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spiked (Hardcover)

You won't find many books like this among those from first-time mystery writers. Arsenault's use of language, humor and description is first-rate, as are the tightly interlocking story strands he weaves into a plot. A fun mystery I gobbled up in a single rainy weekend.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Debut, January 31, 2006

By 

A. E Maloney "Lochthyme" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spiked (A Poisoned Pen Press Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

Eddie Bourque, a reporter for the Lowell Empire in Massachusetts, finds himself involved in a mystery that for him is personal...Eddie's beat partner has been found dead in a mill canal. Blocked at every step of the way Eddie is determined to find his partner's killer. Eddie struggles to stay ahead of ruthless hitmen, the city's power elite and the curious police
detective who always shows up when Eddie wishes she wouldn't. I found the story a little slow in the begining but towards the second half it really picked up the pace and I found myself liking Eddie Bourque and waiting with baited breath for the solution to this involved mystery. Mark Arsenault really knows his stuff about the inside world of the newspaper business and
local politics and conveys this with great writing, interesting characters and a great story. And wait until you meet General VonKatz...he's quite the character!