Home Body (Jack McMorrow Mystery Series) (Hardcover)

by Gerry Boyle (Author) "A Monday morning and I was waiting for Roxanne at Portland District Court..." (more)
Key Phrases: red plaid jacket, woman cop, Crow Man, Sandra Baker, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
If not quite as well paced as others in the series, Boyle's intense, suspense-filled eighth book (after 2003's Pretty Dead) to feature freelance journalist Jack McMorrow nicely captures the mood of rural Maine, where violence seethes beneath the placid surface of rock-strewn woods and decrepit small towns. On a trip to Portland from his country cabin, McMorrow and his pregnant lover, social worker Roxanne Masterson, prevent a street gang from attacking Rocky, a teenage runaway who eludes them. Later, McMorrow spots and tries to help Rocky who, like a bead of quicksilver, slippery and impossible to hold down, slips away again. As the story progresses, McMorrow finds and loses the troubled boy eight times, trying the reader's patience. But with each repetition Boyle increases the tension as McMorrow delves into the dark underworld of street teens, gradually gaining Rocky's trust and learning hints of a frightening family secret that may be linked to three suspicious deaths. A white-knuckle chase leads to a nightmarish finale. Boyle shows how good deeds are suspect in a society of stalkers and prey.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Jack McMorrow has traded the personal freedom of life as a freelance writer and backwoods Maine recluse for the benefits afforded by the night editor's gig at the Bangor Clarion. His companion, Roxanne, is pregnant with his child. In this eighth entry in the series, Jack rescues Rocky, a homeless teenager, from a street beating and tries to take him under his wing. It doesn't work. Rocky doesn't want to be rescued, and his stepfather accuses Jack of molesting the boy. When Rocky's mom seemingly commits suicide after a visit by Jack, the stepdad and Rocky are even less amenable to Jack's good-samaritan routine. More bodies pop up, Jack and Roxanne are threatened, and Rocky keeps running away every time Jack tries to help him. McMorrow can be a compelling character, but this time he seems a little off-center, doggedly helping people who don't want his help and putting his pregnant companion in constant danger. Every good series has an occassional bump in the road. This one is McMorrow's. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425196119
• ISBN-13: 978-0425196113
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,521,774 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting crime thriller, June 1, 2004

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak addition to a superior series., October 25, 2005

By	B. Ramsey - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good read., April 9, 2005

By	L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.