Deadline

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

First-novelist Boyle deftly transplants a big-city noir atmosphere to the western Maine mill town of Androscoggin, where the discovery of a freelance photographer's body floating in the canal leads newspaper editor Jack McMorrow into a series of intrigues. Stumbling onto a scandal and cover-up, he is threatened by a temporarily insane woman, kidnapped, beaten and very nearly murdered himself. McMorrow is an outsider--he took over editorship of the weekly Androscoggin Review after stints at the New York Times and other papers--and his first-person narrative exudes the cynicism of an achiever laid low by hubris, striking just the right note for his story. The author, himself an award-winning columnist, uses his insider's knowledge of the newspaper business to give his plot plenty of texture; he also delivers realistic characterizations, diverting subplots and evocative descriptions of rural Maine. Turning what could have been a contrived ending into a powerful, scary denouement, Boyle shocks readers into the recognition that life, in all of its subtlety, will constantly contradict itself. A fine debut; one hopes to see more of McMorrow. Nov.

Library Journal

Former New York Times reporter Jack McMorrow, now the editor of a weekly small-town Maine newspaper, is on the scene when the newspaper's photographer is pulled from a canal. Although the authorities rule suicide, McMorrow believes that Arthur Bertin was murdered. Because McMorrow cannot stifle his investigative instincts, he sets off a chain of events that place him and his girlfriend in grave danger. What lies behind Arthur's death is not evident until the last pages of the book. However, Boyle does not create a truly plausible bridge between the perpetrator and the viciousness of the plan to warn McMorrow to stop. First-time novelist Boyle lets his suspense build to an excruciating point while forgetting about character development. Not an essential purchase.-- Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights - University Heights P.L., Ohio

Emily Melton

Boyle makes an auspicious debut, using his years of experience as a journalist and his knowledge of small-town Maine to create an entertaining mystery-adventure. Jack McMorrow is the new guy in town, weary of the big-city rat race and ready to settle into the comfortable boredom of publishing a small weekly newspaper in Androscoggin, Maine. But McMorrow's nose for news leads him into trouble when he investigates some suspicious shenanigans at St. Amand Paper Company. Soon the paper photographer is murdered, and McMorrow himself, oblivious to warnings to stick to stories on garden clubs, church suppers, and junior-varsity basketball, is kidnapped and nearly killed. Boyle's characters are all engaging; his high-speed plot never bogs down; and his dry wit provides some welcome relief from the hard-hitting action. Fans of Robert B. Parker's Spenser will love McMorrow, a quintessential male who's tough, funny, macho, and intelligent, who thrives on danger, and who has a girlfriend who's almost as cool as Susan Silverman. All he lacks is a sidekick like Spenser's Hawk.