Gray Matter

Thomas Prescott #2

by Nick Pirog

MEET THOMAS.
THOMAS IS HAVING A ROUGH GO.
HIS GIRL LEFT HIM.
HE'S ALONE ON THANKSGIVING.
HE'S OUT OF WAFFLES.
AND NOW SOMEONE IS TRYING TO KILL HIM.

His love life in shambles, Thomas Prescott returns to Seattle, the very place he fled from after his parents' deaths nearly a decade earlier. Just as Thomas is getting settled in, he sees a body floating in the private cove behind his boyhood home. It is a woman. But not just any woman. The governor of Washington.

As the suspense ratchets, and the twists unfold, Thomas is thrown into the middle of the biggest murder investigation in Washington state history. Prescott is forced to confront the demons from his past and unearths a new enemy, one that couldn't possibly be human, one that has haunted man since the dawn of time...

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Audiobook, Ebooks

327 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 15, 2011

About the author

Nick Pirog is the bestselling author of the Thomas Prescott series, the 3:00 a.m. series, and The Speed of Souls. He lives in South Lake Tahoe with his other half, Stephy, and their pup, Potter.

Reviews

[TXGAL1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent sequel to the first book. Also, a story within a story—one to pull at the heartstrings. Unusual for a murder mystery.

[Sandy]

I'm not going to rate this as I packed it in at about the 25% mark. The MC's dialogue consists of a steady stream of what he considers to be hilarious wisecracks. They're not, especially given his age & profession. But that would have been ok as we all have different takes on humour. What did me in were comments such as describing a female detective's breasts as ripe melons & his helpful tips on how she could lose a few pounds. Add in some completely implausible actions & I'm done. I'll leave it to other more intrepid readers to find out who-dun-it. Next!

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Nick Pirog's writing - he's funny and a great storyteller, and his books are among the most entertaining I've read recently.

Yes, he uses some words incorrectly (e.g. donning for dawning, etc.), and yes, it bothered me, but not enough to ruin my enjoyment of the book. Think he's fixed many of the grammatical and spelling mistakes since the other reviewers made the complaints. Did not find spelling or grammatical errors with noted frequency, and found much fewer than in other Kindle books I've read recently.

This book is two stories in one: a modern murder mystery, and a sort of old man walk through history - old / young man bonding story. I wholeheartedly recommend it and his previous book, Unforeseen, especially if you like the genre.

P.S. My only complaint is that he wraps up the books too quickly with too much murder and mayhem all at once, but again, does not stop me from recommending them!

[Erth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, well paced and a good twisty plot - although I worked out a couple of the connections, I didn’t see the ending coming at all. I loved the parallel story too. I usually read English writers detective stories - I like to identify with the locations - such as Angela Marsons, Damien Boyd and Joy Ellis. But I will look at for more by this author. Well worth the read.

[Vfields Don't touch my happy! · Rating 3 out of 5]

***Spoiler Alert***
I understand murder mysteries have characters die and Nick Pirog has the annoying habit of killing off characters he’s made me the reader like. I don’t care how funny, witty, or self deprecating the protagonist is it’s not pleasurable for me to read. This is the second book, two out of two he’s done that. Oh and the conclusion is much too clever. So I think I’m done with this writer.

[Picky_Book_B1tch · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Love this author! At first I didn't know how to take him but when you don't try to fit him in a box and just go with it, he is entertaining as hell. Gray Matter is unique, irreverent, blunt, humorous and intriguing. A well paced mix of action and laughs with some personal/family angst thrown in.

I'm addicted.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly this should be 4stars. Great plot, a lot of action, cool detective work and an interesting additional story in between. But seriously he can stop being such a disrespectful idiot jumping into bed with every woman he meets. It is unnecessary and detestable.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character is an asshole and the things he does in the novel are not plausible. It's not really a mystery - it's a fantasy for 15 year old boys. He does have a couple of good one-liners so that's worth one star.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it all of seven chapters before I quit. It started with little details that pulled me out of the narrative: no one plays football at 8 am east coast time on Thanksgiving. Even the Macy's Parade doesn't start that early, but Prescott finds both on TV. Then he watches the sun set after 5 in Seattle on the same day despite the fact that in the Pacific Northwest, the sun has already gone down by that time. I know. I live here.

Still, I kept going because everyone makes mistakes on details, and maybe Pirog really knows nothing about the NFL despite its ubiquity. Five more chapters, though, and I realized this was a modern take on the noir detective genre that includes many of the things I like the least about it. A rundown of my pet peeves includes:
1. A non-stop wise-cracking narrator (Prescott) who is more obnoxious than funny
2. As Prescott stews over the fact the female detective is leading the way down to the beach, one of his reasons she should have followed him is "he has a penis," related without any obvious sense of irony.
3. On the walk to the beach, Prescott suggests the female detective take off her top. (He's already been mentally impressed by her melons.)
4. Prescott was kicked off the Seattle force for beating a suspect nearly to death, something he regrets only in that he didn't kill the guy.
5. Prescott, the flawed but noble investigator, is being set up against his old colleague who has been introduced as incredibly arrogant but a little stupid and will probably turn out to be interested solely in climbing the political ladder at work in whatever soulless and amoral way necessary. I don't know for certain his character will turn out to be entirely flat, along with the whole narrative, but I'm not willing to waste my time reading this to be proven wrong.

[ADignorantium · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Pirog shows much improvement with 'Gray Matter', the second Thomas Prescott book. There were none of the frequent grammatical errors that were part of the charm of 'Unforeseen', the first Thomas Prescott novel.
I hate to admit that I was kinda looking forward to some spelling and grammar gaffs.

A year after finally solving the Tristen 'The MAINEiac' Grayer case, Thomas Prescott is once again single. He leaves Maine for his boyhood home in Seattle, which has been empty since the death of his parents.
Upon arrival, Thomas goes through the motions of readying the house for habitation: Clearing cobwebs and shaking loose forgotten memories.
Just as Thomas is getting settled in, he sees a body floating in the private cove. It's a woman; a very important woman. ...and the police suspect Thomas of foul play.


I liked 'Gray Matter'. Though there were a few sluggish moments, it was interesting to see Nick Pirog's writing style evolve. The subplot seemed to come out of nowhere, but Mr. Pirog managed to tie it all together nicely.

All in all, 'Gray Matter' is a good read. I look forward to future Thomas Prescott novels from nick Pirog.

[Greg Tymn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, humor gets in the way of a story. An author can be too cute or have such an offbeat sense of humor that he loses the reader. That is clearly not the case in Gray Matter. Thomas' internal dialogue and word play was, at time, laugh-out-loud funny. And the story kept rolling along. On the more serious side, I liked the plot. Nick did a masterful job of keeping me interested and off-balance so that I didn't see the linkage necessary to solve the case prior to its reveal. Good job there.

There are a number of technical things that one might say about Nick's writing style, ability to develop characters and set scenes, etc. The other reviewers adequately addressed the strengths and glitches. I'll just say that he did a fine job in all areas and I felt good after reading this mystery. If there was any weakness in the novel, it was the abrupt ending. It worked for me, but a longer signoff would have worked too. Author's choice.

I'm looking forward to reading more of Nick's work and getting to know him and his characters a bit better. I liked Prescott a bunch.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have such mixed emotions about this book. The reader in me says it was implausible, a little all over the place, had way too much ambition - could have taken a few things out and probably made it a better story that flowed well but, the bottom line is I really enjoy this author. The character of Thomas is maddeningly hilarious and there is pretty much non-stop action - there's always something going one. And the side story (Harold) in this book definitely kept me coming back dying to know what was going to happen. Don't look for this to be a literary masterpiece but if you are looking for what I call "a mindless novel" to lose yourself in and enjoy, read this book.

[Nancy Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one popped up on my Kindle and I thought I'd read a couple pages and see if it's any good. Man, I read this one in 2 days! Very well written. The narrator reminds me a little bit of the guy in The Martian, with his dry wit and gumption. The last page nearly gave me a heart attack. I'll read more by Nick Pirog! Way better than the other "Gray" books!!! (Not dirty at all!)

[Dan Banana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another really good book in this series, improper actions and juvenile humor, action, suspense and a book that keeps you wanting to find out.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing I think everyone can agree upon is Nick Pirog's Thomas Prescott is controversial. You either hate him or hate to love him...I'm in the latter camp. Against my better sensibilities I really do grudgingly like Thomas Prescott even with his misogynistic, frat-boy perspective. I didn't give the books back to Amazon after listening/reading Unforeseen (like so many others), Pirog's introductory Prescott novel. That story was over-packed with sarcastic, rapid-fire witticisms, some bordering on juvenile level, mostly exposing Prescott's (and Pirog's?) lack of political correctness/social awareness. Let's just say, Thomas Prescott ain't "woke" in any sense of the term. In fact, in this story I was SHOCKED to find out Prescott is only 33 years old since his depiction in Unforeseen was straight up 1950s toxic masculinity. He really puts the "dick" in the term "private dick."

So I am glad to find that Pirog has grown in this second novel. The over abundance of smart-aleck one liners slowed down some, and Prescott's self-deprecating humor gets to shine a little more. It's his saving grace, in my mind. Yeah, he is still totally preoccupied with women's bodies, and the references to certain parts and weight issues are tiresome. (Melons? Really? It's not 1985. Mullets, muscle shirts, and using "melons" to describe women's breasts aren't really a thing anymore.) This type of writing/character thinking is probably my biggest gripe with the character. In today's world he is so out of touch with societal shifts...it's like he's this stalwart beacon of political-incorrectness when it comes to women, LGBTQ, people of color, et al. But in a realllly strange way and as much as I hate to admit it, it's part of his charm. Because deep down he actually does have a soul and knows he can be a real idiot/jerk.

Pirog humanizes Prescott a bit more this time around...we find he falls in love (waaaay too) easily, and actually has a soft spot in his crusty, sarcastic soul. Like some people I felt the subplot with Harold was a nice touch (Was it necessary to the story? No. Was it necessary to help Prescott not be the world's biggest 33 year old douchebag? Yes.) I especially found how he interacted with the little girl of the first murder victim to be quite sweet; you get the feeling he (surprise surprise) can related to kids more than he can to adults. Prescott is a man-child...a very smart and intuitive man-child who is really, really good at his job. There's just something about him that I keep rooting for him to grow up juuuuuust a little bit more.

Regarding the audiobook: the narrator is part of why I thought Prescott was much older than he is when I first listened to Unforeseen; in that narration, his delivery was too quick. I think the way he portrayed the character then really enforced that gangster/detective feel. Thankfully, his narration in this book is much calmer, more natural, less 50s crime drama. He still "sounds older" than 33, but then I realized he has a Luke Evans-style voice and it clicked for me.

To all those who hate these stories...I get it...but I'm not one of them. I'm already onto Afrikaans.

[Jillian Ferry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a great sequel to the first. The writing balances out so the sarcasm is quite funny as opposed to the more or less lewd comments that made up the first book. Harry’s story also brings a romanticism to this book which helps make Thomas less chauvinistic as there seems to be some hope for what is to come.

[Melissa Good · Rating 1 out of 5]

If the author didn’t think he had to make the protagonist such a “funny boy”, this book might have merited 3 stars. The story was all over the place, and I may have missed something, but I have no idea who Harold was to Thomas. At any rate, the constant quips, cynical comments, wisecracks, etc. from Thomas, especially when the situation he was in wasn’t funny, is a major turn off. I will probably try another book by this author to see if he redeems himself, but if the writing is like the writing in this book, I’ll toss it quickly.

[Julie Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I'll definitely look for some of his other books. Great "beach" reads - page turner, entertaining, great sense of humor. If you like Nelson DeMille's John Corey character, you will like Thomas Prescott.

[B PM · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea why I finished reading this. The entire book felt like characters were created to lob softballs at Thomas Prescott for his cringey "quips". This would be your handsy, alcoholic uncles favorite book.

[Ronny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started out okay. Quickly went downhill to racist, misogynistic and roll-your-eyes ridiculous.

[Kimberly-Dawn Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written book that utilizes so many witty cliches and turns of phrases that give our main character a big personality that bursts off the pages. The Murder mystery has the twists (without the overused trope of misdirection) that keeps you guessing. I really enjoyed this mystery for all the right reasons. The tension is palpable at times. I really appreciated how the backstories were built out not only for our main character but our victim and even those affected by murder mystery. There’s some information at the end of the book that basically forces you to scream “take my money!”. Yep, I’m downloading the next two books in this series immediately. The narration definitely added to this audiobook version. The narrator created a pitch perfect voice for the main character that hit the emotions and dry humor of our detective. I highly recommend this book.

[Aղցela W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was book 2 in the "Thomas Prescott" series. This was a pretty good read. Prescott is in Maine suffering from depression on Thanksgiving. He goes to his home town of Seattle and almost and finds a dead body adrift on the shore outside his childhood home. Even though he is an ex-cop and retired consultant to the FBI, he can't keep his hands out of the investigation. The body is that of Ellen Grey the Gov of Washington State. A lady who has been missing for a six weeks. This was a pretty good read and I liked the secondary characters in this book. This book had some funny scenes in it. I listened to this book on audio and I loved the narrator. I am looking forward to listening to the next book in this series.

[Jason Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pirog upholds the thriller unwritten rule of "one too many plot twists" yet again. I admire his dedication to the craft and his insistence on maintaining the rich (and personally despised) tradition of making a somewhat plausible suspension of disbelief turn into complete suspension of disbelief. Thrillers are not my thing, but it did have some amusing bits. Although the protagonist/first person narrator really needs to stop "falling in love" constantly. For those wondering, this was in a free 4-pack on Audible.

[Amzette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love this author and his witty banter, sarcastic sense of humor and how he incorporates it all into a great suspense novel. I would’ve given it a 5 but I just felt that there was too much cursing for my liking! The book would have been just great without it.
I still really enjoy this author and I’m on to the next book in this series.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Gray Matter very much. It kept me guessing all the way to the end. The protagonist is a bit of a self-absorbed jerk sometimes but, he is smart enough to solve the mystery.

Disclaimer: I received this ebook from the author and this is my honest and freely given opinion.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. Loving Thomas Prescott❤️❤️

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm half in love with Thomas Prescott. Smart, smart-assed, and resilient.
This story was really well told and the plot very interesting. And I luv'd the ending.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

read this by accident the other day and some of the cliché factors in this book are literally so on the nose i just couldn’t continue with the series. sorry fam this one ain’t it

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good Thomas Prescott novel.

[notabattlechick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lord these books are terrible and I’m going to devour listen to them ALL in about 2 weeks