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Overview
Mayor John Flore was larger than life. And there he was on TV, standing before a bouquet of microphones, making promises left and right - making friends even faster. New Yorkers believed him. For the split second he was on the big screen, even seasoned reported Jack McMorrow believed him. But the next minute, the mayor was dead - stabbed to death in a hotel restroom." "The city goes numb. But to Jack McMorrow, it's the kind of story a reporter dreams of - a cover story. He's been away from the big city beat for a long time, and he's excited by the chance - not only to get back into it, but to investigate what might be New York's biggest crime story ever. Until he remembers a few things about the night of the crime...like the fact that he was out drinking with childhood buddy and ex-cop Butch Casey - the man they arrested. Then the phone rings, and it seems there a few things Jack needs to clear up. Starting with...where were you the night the mayor was murdered?.Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
Once a New York Times reporter, Jack McMorrow left the city in the 1980s after a virulent falling-out with the paper's management. A decade later, he's back in Manhattan, settling the details for his gig as the Times's new northern New England stringer before returning home to Maine. While in town, Jack has a drink with his childhood pal, former cop Butch Casey. The next morning a TV reporter informs Jack that New York's popular mayor, the Giulianiesque Johnny Fiore, has been fatally stabbed and Butch has been arrested for the crime. (Ten years ago, when Butch's wife was murdered, then-DA Fiore dropped the case against the killer, saying that a witness against him was tainted.) The media descends on Jack; trying to escape their prying, he winds up at the Brooklyn loft of his ex-girlfriend. Before the mayor's death, Butch had claimed he knew of corruption in the justice system, so Jack treks all over the city checking out Butch's leads while he himself is constantly under surveillance. The mob, drug dealers and political operatives all seem to be part of the shady goings-on. Boyle (Borderline, etc.) deftly puts Jack through his paces: Is Jack's work on the story a conflict of interest? Can he resist the decadent temptations of his old life and return to the woman he loves in Maine? Boyle's snappy prose stops just short of hard-boiled, letting some poignancy slip into his characters' plights. As the story pushes forward, he fashions a powerful study of New York City--of its glamour, of the tawdry hopelessness of so many who live there, and of the power-mad honchos who feed on them. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.Library Journal
Maine investigative reporter Jack McMorrow visits New York intending to work freelance for the New York Times. When news breaks of the mayor's murder and police arrest Jack's longtime friend, an ex-cop, as the perp, Jack's plans quickly change. Hoping to save his friend and track down the real murderer, he offers to assist the police, winds up under media scrutiny himself, then uncovers political corruption leading back to the mayor and beyond. Boyle offers potential movie material here: murder, intrigue, frantic chases, confrontations, ambitious women (and men), and hidden agendas--all told with crisp tension. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.Book Details
Published
January 1, 2000
Publisher
New York : Berkley Prime Crime, 2000.
Pages
1
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780425168936