Port City Shakedown by Gerry Boyle, will be presented on Thursday, July 9, at 7 p.m., at Devaney Doak & Garrett Booksellers.
This first book in “a new series by veteran crime writer Gerry Boyle introduces Brandon Blake, a lean loner who lives on his old wooden cruiser, the Bay Witch. Blake is a man with baggage. Raised from the age of three by his alcoholic grandmother after his mother was lost at sea, he learned early to depend on no one.
Largely self-educated, he decides to take a law enforcement class at a community college. When – during a ride-along assignment with a patrolman – he gets involved in a fight, Blake is marked for payback by a soon-to-be-released convict. Meanwhile, some questions surface about his mother’s disappearance at sea.
Boyle’s book is a tale of predators on a collision course. It is about the ocean as a last frontier, about the fortunes the sea can deliver – and the lives it can swallow whole. It is also about one man’s rough voyage from rugged independence to reluctant connections with others.”
Praise for Gerry Boyle:
“Boyle keeps the legends of this cold and menacing landscape very much alive.” – The New York Times
“Boyle’s snappy prose stops just short of hard-boiled, letting some poignancy slip into his characters’ plights.” – Publishers Weekly
“The dialogue hums and crackles.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Wonderful supporting characters… superb writing. His feel for small-town new England is almost eerily photographic.” – The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Gerry Boyle is the genuine article.” – Robert B. Parker
“Stunning…. The writing is sharp and evocative.” – The Washington Post Book World
“Features as much sound and fury as a summer movie blockbuster.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Fans of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels will love Jack McMorrow.” – Booklist
“Well-realized, believable characters… unusual and suspenseful.” – The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“The author… 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.” – Publishers Weekly
About the Author:
Gerry Boyle was born in Chicago, raised in Rhode Island, and now lives in China, Maine. He is best known for his Jack McMorrow crime novels, including Deadline, Potshot, Pretty Dead, Cover Story, and Home Body. He attended Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where he majored in Literature. He has also written as a journalist for the Rumford Falls Times and the Waterville Morning Sentinel.
For more information regarding this event contact DDG Booksellers, 193 Broadway, Farmington, Me 04938 at 778-3454, or by email at info@ddgbooks.com.
