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Garrison Gage #2
A Desperate Place for Dying
An old flame.
A killer on the loose.
A crazy cult on the rise.
Nearly a year has passed since Garrison Gage became the reluctant guardian of a troubled teenage girl, but neither fatherhood nor the intervening months have improved his mood. His right knee is still mostly worthless. He still prefers to drink his bourbon alone. And even with a certain blonde bombshell a persistent part of his life, he still can't be bothered to buy a cell phone. Or any phone, for that matter. Why? Then somebody might call him.
But grumpy as Gage can be, he still finds that life on the Oregon Coast has settled into a comfortable if not happy routine - until the man who murdered his wife shows up in town.
That's just for starters. A desperate plea from an old flame - his first love, in fact - soon entangles Gage in a high profile case involving a famous and brazenly outspoken lecturer on evolution and atheism, a crazy fundamentalist cult that uses all means necessary to silence its critics, and a brutal local murder of a far more personal nature.
Before the mystery can be unraveled, Gage's abilities and beliefs will be put to the ultimate test. And the man who claims he doesn't need anyone will discover he may just lose everything.
©2012 Jack Nolte (P)2012 Jack Nolte
A killer on the loose.
A crazy cult on the rise.
Nearly a year has passed since Garrison Gage became the reluctant guardian of a troubled teenage girl, but neither fatherhood nor the intervening months have improved his mood. His right knee is still mostly worthless. He still prefers to drink his bourbon alone. And even with a certain blonde bombshell a persistent part of his life, he still can't be bothered to buy a cell phone. Or any phone, for that matter. Why? Then somebody might call him.
But grumpy as Gage can be, he still finds that life on the Oregon Coast has settled into a comfortable if not happy routine - until the man who murdered his wife shows up in town.
That's just for starters. A desperate plea from an old flame - his first love, in fact - soon entangles Gage in a high profile case involving a famous and brazenly outspoken lecturer on evolution and atheism, a crazy fundamentalist cult that uses all means necessary to silence its critics, and a brutal local murder of a far more personal nature.
Before the mystery can be unraveled, Gage's abilities and beliefs will be put to the ultimate test. And the man who claims he doesn't need anyone will discover he may just lose everything.
©2012 Jack Nolte (P)2012 Jack Nolte
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2012
534 people are currently reading
324 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
March 22, 2015
Another ' hit' for Scott William Carter
What could possibly be better than reading a book by Scott William Carter in one sitting? Easy - it's reading a second book by Scott William Carter in one setting! A Desperate Place for Dying is a great book to read and it is as good as his first book of the series, A Gray and Guilty Sea. Both are we incredibly well written and provoking.
What could possibly be better than reading a book by Scott William Carter in one sitting? Easy - it's reading a second book by Scott William Carter in one setting! A Desperate Place for Dying is a great book to read and it is as good as his first book of the series, A Gray and Guilty Sea. Both are we incredibly well written and provoking.
August 25, 2015
Another awesome Garrison Garrison Gage thriller.If you liked the first one, you will really like this one as well. It has an ex-girlfriend, a Mafia boss, an ambitious Atheist activist, and the ever popular pouty newspaper reporter girlfriend. Throw in a recently adopted, troubled, teenage daughter, and that is about as much as you want to handle. The author manages them all very well and even throws in a couple surprises at the end.
August 31, 2017
4.5 Fast paced. Interesting, imperfect characters. Constant "surprises." Dry humor. I really enjoyed this second Garrison Gage mystery -which I listened to - read by Steven Roy Grimsley, who was terrific. Looking forward to number three.
October 26, 2020
-In this second novel of Garrison Gage, Gage is still struggling in his relationship with young Zoe, who is the granddaughter of his tenant, Mattie. Mattie had passed away in the first book and asked that Gage be the guardian of Zoe. Gage also has a romantic interest in Carmen, who is the sole employee and owner of the town’s newspaper.
-Gage’s wife was killed by a man sent by Bruzzi, a crime boss that Gage was after. Gage had been the target, but when Gage’s wife tried to defend Gage, she herself was killed. Gage managed to kill the attacker but was too late to save his wife. Bruzzi had gone to prison because of Gage’s testimony against him and was to be in prison for at least 20 years. Bruzzi, a giant of a man, now saunters into town, apparently let out of prison early because of “good behavior” and begins to shadow Gage’s movements. His presence shakes Gage, but Gage can do nothing against Bruzzi, but be prepared for Bruzzi’s revenge.
-Gage now gets a call from a woman from his past. Angela Wellman, who was his teacher in college, and just a few years older, had an affair with him. One day, he had waited at a private meeting place that they had set up, but she never showed up. He later found out that she had abruptly picked up and left the school and the town, without telling him anything, which hurt him, and he carried some of that hurt with him even through today. Angela now needed help. She’s working for Loren Sparrow, who is a science proponent and against biblical teaching of Creation, but he’s been receiving threats against his person from a group called “God’s Wrath”, who were an underground group using terrorist methods to achieve their goals of having evolution removed as an ideology. Gage agrees to meet with Angela, but the coming meeting with Angela is causing friction with Carmen.
-Angela comes to the town and they meet at her motel. She’s appears to be as beautiful as he remembered her, despite the passage of time, and he struggles to resist the urge to be with her physically. They talk and she opens up as to why she had to leave when she did, and go on to discuss the issue that brought her to ask for his help. They agree to meet over breakfast the next day to review some additional facts that Gage wants to know and he returns to his own house. Later that night, the police come to his home and tell him that Angela Wellman has been found dead in her hotel room. She was horribly tortured until she was finally killed.
-Gage now feels compelled, for Angela’s sake, to discover the identity of her killer. He must also think of how to protect both Carmen and Zoe from Bruzzi, as Bruzzi continues to show up and taunt Gage.
-This second novel has the same excellent writing, and an involved plot that is never fully revealed until the end. Overall, it’s a very exciting and action filled story, with Gage struggling to overcome his handicap of a busted knee that forces him to walk with a cane, as he tries to discover who killed Angela, and also tries to find out what Bruzzi’s game is. There are also events that take place which will alter his life going forward, resulting in changes in the characters that we’ll now find in the next novel in the series.
-Gage’s wife was killed by a man sent by Bruzzi, a crime boss that Gage was after. Gage had been the target, but when Gage’s wife tried to defend Gage, she herself was killed. Gage managed to kill the attacker but was too late to save his wife. Bruzzi had gone to prison because of Gage’s testimony against him and was to be in prison for at least 20 years. Bruzzi, a giant of a man, now saunters into town, apparently let out of prison early because of “good behavior” and begins to shadow Gage’s movements. His presence shakes Gage, but Gage can do nothing against Bruzzi, but be prepared for Bruzzi’s revenge.
-Gage now gets a call from a woman from his past. Angela Wellman, who was his teacher in college, and just a few years older, had an affair with him. One day, he had waited at a private meeting place that they had set up, but she never showed up. He later found out that she had abruptly picked up and left the school and the town, without telling him anything, which hurt him, and he carried some of that hurt with him even through today. Angela now needed help. She’s working for Loren Sparrow, who is a science proponent and against biblical teaching of Creation, but he’s been receiving threats against his person from a group called “God’s Wrath”, who were an underground group using terrorist methods to achieve their goals of having evolution removed as an ideology. Gage agrees to meet with Angela, but the coming meeting with Angela is causing friction with Carmen.
-Angela comes to the town and they meet at her motel. She’s appears to be as beautiful as he remembered her, despite the passage of time, and he struggles to resist the urge to be with her physically. They talk and she opens up as to why she had to leave when she did, and go on to discuss the issue that brought her to ask for his help. They agree to meet over breakfast the next day to review some additional facts that Gage wants to know and he returns to his own house. Later that night, the police come to his home and tell him that Angela Wellman has been found dead in her hotel room. She was horribly tortured until she was finally killed.
-Gage now feels compelled, for Angela’s sake, to discover the identity of her killer. He must also think of how to protect both Carmen and Zoe from Bruzzi, as Bruzzi continues to show up and taunt Gage.
-This second novel has the same excellent writing, and an involved plot that is never fully revealed until the end. Overall, it’s a very exciting and action filled story, with Gage struggling to overcome his handicap of a busted knee that forces him to walk with a cane, as he tries to discover who killed Angela, and also tries to find out what Bruzzi’s game is. There are also events that take place which will alter his life going forward, resulting in changes in the characters that we’ll now find in the next novel in the series.
September 17, 2018
Another great entry in the series, although I think I liked the first one just a little more. It's amazing how Gage always seems to do the work of the police, without ever giving them a head's up. But it works for him (although just barely at the end of this one... ;-).
The story was compelling and well-paced, leading to a bang-up finale. I like the characters Mr. Nolte populates his stories with. Gage is growing on me, and I think Zoe is a good addition to his world (as he is to hers). Bruzzi was certainly interesting; sure wish we found out what he wanted though. There were, as others mentioned, some editing problems (one sentence that made no sense at all, obviously missing something), but it didn't detract too much from the overall story for me. I will look for the next in the series.
Small spoiler here...
The story was compelling and well-paced, leading to a bang-up finale. I like the characters Mr. Nolte populates his stories with. Gage is growing on me, and I think Zoe is a good addition to his world (as he is to hers). Bruzzi was certainly interesting; sure wish we found out what he wanted though. There were, as others mentioned, some editing problems (one sentence that made no sense at all, obviously missing something), but it didn't detract too much from the overall story for me. I will look for the next in the series.
Small spoiler here...
February 16, 2017
An excellent follow-up!!
This second book in the Garrison Gage series is just as great as the first, possibly better in some ways. This story has a greater sense of urgency and intrigue. The emotional drama spreads over a wider spectrum as well. And it's also like 2 stories in one...the reappearance of Gage's wife's killer in his life and the search to find the killer of his former lover being the most prevalent storyline. Throw in the teenage angst of his newly assumed daughter, the complexities of his relationship with a drop-dead journalist whose career alone should be enough to have him running for the hills, said his unwavering wit especially at the worst of times and you see Gage at his best and worst! It's a great story and excellently crafted novel if you aren't bothered by the many editing errors that slow down your reading, requiring you to stop and briefly review to determine what the current sentence was supposed to say. But it's a book well worth that minor inconvenience and distraction!
This second book in the Garrison Gage series is just as great as the first, possibly better in some ways. This story has a greater sense of urgency and intrigue. The emotional drama spreads over a wider spectrum as well. And it's also like 2 stories in one...the reappearance of Gage's wife's killer in his life and the search to find the killer of his former lover being the most prevalent storyline. Throw in the teenage angst of his newly assumed daughter, the complexities of his relationship with a drop-dead journalist whose career alone should be enough to have him running for the hills, said his unwavering wit especially at the worst of times and you see Gage at his best and worst! It's a great story and excellently crafted novel if you aren't bothered by the many editing errors that slow down your reading, requiring you to stop and briefly review to determine what the current sentence was supposed to say. But it's a book well worth that minor inconvenience and distraction!
August 5, 2020
Another successful murder mystery on the Oregon coast solved by the curmudgeonly Garrison Gage. He’s got a limp, a chip on his shoulder, a best friend who is ex-FBI, a girlfriend who runs the local newspaper, plus a house with several cats and a teenage girl “inherited” when his former housekeeper died (book one). A woman from his past shows up, looking for help with a problem her atheistic boss is having with a religious cult. At the same time, the NJ man who killed Garrison’s wife is suddenly out of jail and following him around Oregon. So much going on! Not all of the story lines are tied up at the end and I’m looking forward to continuing with this series. The author enjoyably captures the usually gray and overcast off-season on the Oregon coast.
January 17, 2025
Looking after a very rebellous seventeen year old girl afteri the death of her grandmother, was never going to be easy for Garrison Garth.
But things changed when the killer of his wife seven years before, got parole and pitched up in Barnacle Bluffs.
If that was the only strange visitor doing so. There was also Angela, an erstwhile lover when Garrison was but a boy. And she requires help as a warlike cult has been targeting her husband.
She got killed the same night.
Life has just become complicated again for Garrison Gage.
A Desperate Place for Dying has been a
quite aptly titled by author Scott William Carter as Garrisson Gage once again gets drawn into some deadly ventures.
And for the reader? Falling in love once more with a clever storyline with some outstanding characters.
Rnjoy
But things changed when the killer of his wife seven years before, got parole and pitched up in Barnacle Bluffs.
If that was the only strange visitor doing so. There was also Angela, an erstwhile lover when Garrison was but a boy. And she requires help as a warlike cult has been targeting her husband.
She got killed the same night.
Life has just become complicated again for Garrison Gage.
A Desperate Place for Dying has been a
quite aptly titled by author Scott William Carter as Garrisson Gage once again gets drawn into some deadly ventures.
And for the reader? Falling in love once more with a clever storyline with some outstanding characters.
Rnjoy
April 21, 2020
Garrison Gage is retired, everybody knows that. But when an ex-lover dies shortly after meeting with Gage, he's determined to find the killer. But life and the pursuit of justice is complicated by a visit from the paroled crime boss who killed his wife, an adopted teenage daughter who doesn't like to follow rules, and a girlfriend Gage can't quite figure out. This is a great 2nd novel in the series. I've been listening to these books and the narrator is fantastic. His voice is perfect for the rough and rugged Gage. I look forward to listening to the next Garrison Gage murder mystery.
April 24, 2020
Wickedly good
I thought the first book in this series was really good. This one beat the socks off it. When a past love of Gage's contacts him about her boss, it sets off a chain of events that rolls like thunder through the pages. I could not put this book down until I finished it. I acquired both these books through Kindle Unlimited, as I do almost everything I read, and I rarely actually purchase books. But. This series is so compelling I will be purchasing it for my Kindle Library.
I thought the first book in this series was really good. This one beat the socks off it. When a past love of Gage's contacts him about her boss, it sets off a chain of events that rolls like thunder through the pages. I could not put this book down until I finished it. I acquired both these books through Kindle Unlimited, as I do almost everything I read, and I rarely actually purchase books. But. This series is so compelling I will be purchasing it for my Kindle Library.
May 12, 2018
Nice continuation of series after first book but there were some things that I think could have been expanded a bit. Lots of action towards the end but no explanation of some things. Can’t really specify without spoilers. Still like the main characters but hoping Garrison finds a way to grow and keep in touch with the real world before his schtick of semi-crippled widowed retired grumpy no phone persona gets old. Will try to go on to the next in the series.
March 19, 2019
This is a good series and it was nice to see characters from the first book more fleshed out. Zoe had a real presence in this book and although I’m sad 😞 that Gage lost a girlfriend, it looks like the new one is promising!!
This book like the first one wrapped up really fast in the last three chapters but DAMN what a way to send off a villain! Hopefully we are past Zoe’s goth stage and she is prominent in book 3 The Lovely 😊 Wicked Rain ☔️ !
See you in Seattle!!
This book like the first one wrapped up really fast in the last three chapters but DAMN what a way to send off a villain! Hopefully we are past Zoe’s goth stage and she is prominent in book 3 The Lovely 😊 Wicked Rain ☔️ !
See you in Seattle!!
March 30, 2020
Disappointed with 2nd in series
Story line was weak. Found the anger towards and dislike of Christians and those who watch Fox News extremely bothersome and judgmental. I read for entertainment, not for an author's political and religious opinions. The first in the series was great-character development in this one was disappointing.
Story line was weak. Found the anger towards and dislike of Christians and those who watch Fox News extremely bothersome and judgmental. I read for entertainment, not for an author's political and religious opinions. The first in the series was great-character development in this one was disappointing.
November 18, 2020
I like the way this author writes - especially since I live on the Oregon Coast where Garrison Gage lives. He describes the weather and the ocean exactly the way I can look our my windows and see the same view as Garrison.
These stories (books one and two) are quick and easy to read - thought provoking and always moving in multiple directions. Looking forward to the next book,,
These stories (books one and two) are quick and easy to read - thought provoking and always moving in multiple directions. Looking forward to the next book,,
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June 22, 2021Calling Garrison Crusty would be an insult to those that are. In the end though he seems to pull through. Without giving too much away I had a real hard time with the reactions of a certain teenager, after an event. Maybe in his next book he'll follow up on it. This one didn't keep me as occupied as the first, but still a good read. Still some characters left with questions.
March 1, 2017
I loved it !.
Garrison Gage is a difficult character to like, he's a but of an ass to everyone that knows him. But, he mellows....you begin to like him, root for him. And before you know it......you're hooked.
Garrison Gage is a difficult character to like, he's a but of an ass to everyone that knows him. But, he mellows....you begin to like him, root for him. And before you know it......you're hooked.
May 27, 2018
The voice of the protagonist is relatable most of the time but occasionally gets over the top. The snarky humor seems forced. The typos were annoying, too. Sloppy editing ruined an otherwise good read.
November 2, 2019
So glad I found this series
The only thing better than finding the first two books in a series you like is finding that thel series has got a number of additional books that have already been written and are waiting to be read. Can't wait!
The only thing better than finding the first two books in a series you like is finding that thel series has got a number of additional books that have already been written and are waiting to be read. Can't wait!
November 30, 2022
Very Entertaining
Another fun ride from Mr. Carter. I’m happy that I discovered his works. This series is all that I have tried so far but look forward to more. Interesting, well developed characters along with many twists and turns.
Another fun ride from Mr. Carter. I’m happy that I discovered his works. This series is all that I have tried so far but look forward to more. Interesting, well developed characters along with many twists and turns.
August 25, 2023
This is the second book I have read by Scott William Carter and I am glad he hasn't been hit by the 'sophomore jinx.' Tightly written, likeable characters, taut story, good editing. I look forward to the next book in the series.
July 28, 2017
A great read. I wanted more Gage and Zoe. You don't deserve Carmen. How about Barnacle bluffs in the summer time...:)
August 14, 2017
A Desperate Place for Dying review
A Desperate Place for Dying is the second book in the Garrison Gage Oregon Coast Mystery series written by author Scott William Carter.
A Desperate Place for Dying is the second book in the Garrison Gage Oregon Coast Mystery series written by author Scott William Carter.
April 4, 2018
Gritty tough battered private eye set on the Oregon coast. I liked it a lot. I will keep reading this author.
September 8, 2018
I like the main character and Zoe. I like this series but could do without the profanity.
October 1, 2018
I enjoyed this book. Lots of twists I didn't see coming
I enjoyed this book a lot. It has a nice balance between Gage's personal life and background and the case.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It has a nice balance between Gage's personal life and background and the case.
December 13, 2018
Another excellent - show don't tell- read packed with unexpected twists, murder, romance, and an unexpected ending that did not disappoint.
March 27, 2019
Enjoyed this very much!
March 29, 2019
Easy and descriptive reading. Eagerly starting the third in the series now. It's been a while since I've been able to stay interested and finish a book. Awesome well written series.!!
June 15, 2019
What can I say? Another fun, quick read. Garrison Gage is a great curmudgeon of a character. This one has some decent twists and turns of a phrase (???). I’m guessing I’ll read three now.
July 15, 2019
Good suspenseful story, I love the main character Garrison - he's crusty, but he has a good heart.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews