Spiked

Eddie Bourque #1

by Mark Arsenault

Reporter Eddie Bourque chases stories for the Lowell Empire, a second-class rag in a Massachusetts city of first-generation immigrants and bare-knuckled politicians. The talented and ambitious Eddie has one eye on finding a better job. However, when the dead junkie found floating in a mill canal is identified as his beat partner, he gives the story his full attention. That is, until he finds himself stonewalled by powerbrokers in Lowell law enforcement-- and at his own newspaper.
Bent on finding his partner' s killer, Eddie disobeys orders and follows a mysterious Cambodian woman into the city' s poorest neighborhood-- with violent results. Battered, dumped in a canal and left for dead, Eddie survives an encounter with an invisible underworld, only to find himself entangled in an international plot of murder and revenge.
It' s do or die for Eddie as he struggles to stay one step ahead of ruthless hitmen, the city' s self-serving power elite, and the curious police detective who always shows up when Eddie wishes she wouldn' t. The story of a lifetime beckons, but the closer he comes to the truth, the greater the chance that the story- and Eddie will be spiked.

Genres: Mystery

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

MARK ARSENAULT has been a reporter since 1989 and presently covers state politics for The Providence Journal in Rhode Island. His previous novels include the Shamus finalist Spiked and Speak Ill of the Living. He lives in Rhode Island.

Reviews

[Marissa Kellogg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Arsenault writes AMAZING crime fiction, plain and simple. His experience as a journalist brings his similarly-employed protagonists to life, and while they may skim the border of "outright fearless action hero" at times, it's not to an intolerable degree. A wealth of characters and fantastic pacing keep you guessing at "whodunnit" till the end.

Bonus points for setting it in Massachusetts. Kind of cool to be familiar enough with Lowell to imagine where all this is happening.

The best part about Arsenaults books though-There are no romantic subplots, unnecessary or otherwise. God b l e s s.

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reporter turned amateur PI, pretty good stuff.

[Kevin Bergeron · Rating 4 out of 5]

My introduction to the author’s work was a short story about a roller derby skater I read several years ago. I loved the story, and after recently re-reading it I decided to read one of his books, and found this book in the local public library.

“Spiked” did not quite meet up to my high expectations, but nevertheless kept me up late last night. I kept telling myself I’d quit for the night after finishing the chapter; and then I’d go onto another chapter, all the way to the end.

The protagonist, Eddie Bourque, is a small time newspaper reporter with ambitions of breaking into the big time. Ambition is often self-defeating, and Eddie is also limited by a terrifying childhood experience. Fear and ambition are in his case related, and something he must recognize in order to navigate the cesspool of corruption into which his investigation of the death of a fellow reporter leads him. After many twists and turns, his search ends in the discovery of dead body that has been concealed in plain sight for many years.

From the roof of the newspaper building, where Eddie and his editor meet at night to swig beer and drive golf balls, to the basement where a disabled war veteran keeps the archives, the world of the newspaper business comes vividly to life and makes for fun and fascinating reading. Also memorable is a drug addicted couple who live under a bridge and help Eddie along the way. The lively characters are quirky and amusing, and very realistic. The action scenes, however, are sometimes unrealistic, and to my mind not where the real story is.

There’s a lot of complex and fascinating thematic material that begs for further exploration and development. I wonder, for instance, if the dead body is not in some way Eddie himself, if his investigation might in some way be a search to discover and eventually to free himself from his own limitations.
Whatever, there’s something about the voice and storytelling that is very engaging. It’s probably just that Mr. Arsenault knows and cares about his characters, particularly those who live on the fringes of society, brings them to life and makes you care about them too.

[Eadie Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reporter Eddie Bourque chases stories for the Lowell Empire, a second-class rag in a Massachusetts city of first-generation immigrants and bare-knuckled politicians. The talented and ambitious Eddie has one eye on finding a better job. However, when the dead junkie found floating in a mill canal is identified as his beat partner, he gives the story his full attention. That is, until he finds himself stonewalled by powerbrokers in Lowell law enforcement 14and at his own newspaper.

Bent on finding his partner 19s killer, Eddie disobeys orders and follows a mysterious Cambodian woman into the city 19s poorest neighborhood 14with violent results. Battered, dumped in a canal and left for dead, Eddie survives an encounter with an invisible underworld, only to find himself entangled in an international plot of murder and revenge.

It 19s do or die for Eddie as he struggles to stay one step ahead of ruthless hitmen, the city 19s self-serving power elite, and the curious police detective who always shows up when Eddie wishes she wouldn 19t. The story of a lifetime beckons, but the closer he comes to the truth, the greater the chance that the story 13and Eddie will be spiked.

Really enjoyed this fast-paced novel with interesting characters and plot! Looking forward to reading my last Arsenault novel, Speak Ill of the Living. Just sent the author an email to tell him that I have enjoyed all his books and he needs to write more!

[Olivermagnus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eddie Bourque is a political reporter for the Lowell Empire following a story that he hopes will bring him back to the big time. But his editor and the city politicians don't want to publish negative stories. In an effort to rebuild the dying city they are encouraging investors to tear down the local immigrant neighborhood and build expensive condos. When a story of the shooting of a drug addict in a local park is rewritten by an editor, he gets a bit testy.

Then a body is dredged from the river. It's his beat partner, Denny Nowlin and his publisher strangely refuses to follow up on the story. When Eddie is beaten and nearly killed, it gets personal. Despite the fact that the Lowell Empire won't publish any of it, he keeps digging. Eddie's refusal to accept the cover up of Danny's murder leads him deep into the Cambodian community in Lowell, particularly to a young woman bent on avenging her father's death at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and to a Cambodian philanthropist who is not all that he seems.

I enjoyed the book and found the mystery more complex than I originally anticipated. It was filled with plenty of action, humor and mystery. The character development was strong and Eddie was a very interesting character. This is my second book by Mark Arsenault and I do plan to try another sometime.

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

SPIKED – G+
Mark Arsenault – 1st book
In the fading manufacturing city of Lowell, Mass., Eddie Bourque, a political reporter for the shoddy Lowell Empire, looks into the brutal murder of his newspaper beat partner and rival, Danny Nowlin. Bourque suspects the killing is tied to a story Nowlin was working on undercover, but the newspaper’s owners, high up in Lowell’s power structure, discourage Bourque from pursuing his investigation.

Although I found it a bit slow in the beginning, the story definitely picked up, the character of Eddie became much more interesting and I found myself involved.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as his other book "Grave Writer". Try that one instead.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Debut mystery set in Lowell, MA. A reporter for the local paper looks into the death of a co-worker.