Deadline

Jack McMorrow Mystery, Book 1

By: Gerry Boyle

Narrated by: Michael A. Smith

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Jack is back in this dynamic re-release of best-selling crime writer Gerry Boyle’s first novel.

Meet Jack McMorrow, a hard-hitting crime reporter for the New York Times, now living in the backwoods of Maine, near the paper plant in Rumford. Jack's there to run the local paper, but when a unpopular photographer is found drowned in a nearby canal, Jack gets drawn into a complicated game that has kept members of the town silenced and in fear for their lives.

Maine may be the place where life is as it should be, but McMorrow finds out staying alive may be harder than he thought.

©1993 Gerry Boyle (P)2017 Anaba Publishing

Jack is the anti-hero we all need

I started this series with one of the later books and had to go back to the beginning. Jack McMorrow is a great character. He has morals aplenty but lacks basic common sense at times. He's scrappy and resilient and I just adore him.

In this first book in the series, Jack is just beginning to flex his "not on my watch" muscles. Bad things happen, good people let them happen, and Jack gets annoyed/involved. This time it's a photographer on his newspaper staff who is found dead and no one, besides Jack, seems to want to know why.

I didn't figure out the whodunnit so the ending was one heck of a shocker!

I loved the narration in this novel. Smith takes extra care with his performance, even using special audio when characters are talking on the phone. It's the always the little things that make a story work and Smith pays attention to the details

I'm looking forward to book two.

Very slow, alright by the end but it took a while.

I've had an eye on this author's books for a while now without ever taking the plunge until now. I do like an investigative journalist/reporter type tale where the main guy usually fights crime by exposing corruption. Gerry Boyle has written a dozen or so books featuring his newspaperman Jack McMorrow.

Well I'm not saying the book started off slow, but I think I had a full length beard by the time I reached the end of the first chapter. By around the 100 page mark, it was touching the floor. In fairness things did speed up slightly after that, though my pet tortoise, still a bit sluggish post-hibernation was still moving at the speed of light compared to pedestrian Jack.

At the risk of repeating myself, to say things took a while to get going, might be an understatement. A freelance photographer who does some work for McMorrow's newspaper, turns up dead by drowning. The circumstances are slightly suspicious. The area the victim was found is quite isolated and there is no vehicle in the vicinity, so how did he get there? The police are tending towards suicide. The man had no close friends or relatives to care or make a fuss. Jack McMorrow is the only one who seems remotely interested, including this reader.

Eventually things get going. McMorrow and his girlfriend get targeted, physically and via distressing messages. We discover more about the photographer and what he may/may not have been upto. There's another major plot point concerning a story McMorrow is working on regarding the paper plant and their overbearing influence as the town's major employer and the pressure they bring to bear on local government and the town's tax revenues.. ie we can't afford to pay our dues, reduce the bill or we upsticks and relocate. McMorrow finds them pulling a similar stunt in other locations. Is the plant or it's agents ie. disgruntled employees responsible for the attacks on McMorrow and does it connect in some way to the drowning death or are there other nefarious forces involved?

Read it and find out.

I'm not one for giving up on books. I always continue in the sometimes vain hope that things will improve and get better. I think if this had been a printed copy as opposed to an Audible book, my resolve may have been severely tested. It did get better. I did kind of enjoy it by the time we got to the end. I was interested in getting answers to all the different questions posed regarding the murder and the who, and the how and the why. I would have enjoyed it better, if it had been a much leaner, faster read.

3 from 5

I do have more from Gerry Boyle on the pile. I wonder if he gets things going a bit sooner in his second series book. Not rushing towards it, but I'll get to it at some point.

Read - (listened to) February, 2021
Published - 1993
Page count - 376 (9 hrs 48 mins)
Source - Audible purchase
Format - Audible

Great !!

A very crazy mystery for sure I have to say. This story went every direction as far as clues and suspicion of who done it goes. Usually I can figure things out but this one had me all mixed up. 

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Usually not my type

Just to let you know this is not the type of book I usually listen to so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

It’s a decent enough book that wasn’t too obvious who had done it.

Wouldn’t recommend to average reader but if mystery thrillers are your thing go for it

Poor narration; good story

I have to break my feelings about this book down into two sections - the story and the narration.

The story was great. I know the town of “Androscoggin” and I could see it in every description Boyle wrote. Jack is an interesting character. I can imagine how he stands out as a flatlander in this small town in the western Maine hills. I loved the descriptions of the basketball coverage. Very important to the fabric of small towns. The mystery is very well laid out and the solution is well developed - but a surprise. Well done.

Now the narration of the audiobook! Pathetic, in my opinion. Very staccato and those accents! The women all sounded childish. I hate when the narration detracts from a good book. It does a disservice to the author. I feel this is the case here.

I received this audiobook from the author and promised an honest review.

Wonderfully enthralling

This begins Gerry Boyle’s Jack McMorrow series, and I’m completely hooked. Both plot and characters are wonderful— lively and engrossing. What really captures me is the Downeast humor... dry, understated and totally of the region. If you were a fan of Robert Parker’s “Spencer” novels, you’ll love Boyle’s McMorrow.... younger, less troubled but intrepid, brave, not one to back down, and ready to do good in the world.

Jack is Back!

Jack Morrow is a big city reporter with an impressive resume, but at his middle age he is starting to feel out done by the "younger set". As a result, he gave up the city and took over a small town newspaper in Maine. The story begins with the inexplicable death of an unassuming, adjunct town press photographer under odd circumstances. Jack is unconvinced that his death is an accident or suicide and begins to dig into his background. Trouble begins to occur and Jack dives deeper into the mystery of the town.

Gerry Boyle sets up a interesting and flawed hero who I look forward to listening more about. The plot of Deadline was complex with multiple storylines and unexpected twists and turns.

Michael A. Smith was an excellent narrator and gave an excellent life to the characters.

I look forward to listening to future books in this series. Recommended for those who enjoy a more cerebral murder mystery.

***I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my own, unbiased, review.***

Excellent Story

I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this listen, thanks !

corruption at every turn

Small town corruption and cover ups of said corruption are the order of the day, everyday. Local citizens aide in the cover ups!! I was astounded by the level of complicity with crimes and just smh. I guessed some of the players, but they were everywhere!!! Fast paced and audience participation!! lol..I enjoyed it. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a good job bringing it to life.

Good, suspenseful Mystery

The story was really good. The narration was fine; nothing special, but it doesn’t detract from the story.