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Jack McMorrow Mystery #12
Random Act
Love is Hell . . . or maybe it’s just who we choose to love. When Maine’s favorite reporter, Jack McMorrow, heads out to do a routine chore, little does he know he’s about to witness a senseless murder with vicious repercussions. With his nose for news, McMorrow chases leads that take him into the dark side of Downeast—the side the tourist brochures don’t show. At the same time, his best friend Louis has fallen for a mysterious blonde with Russian ties and a hankering for money and intrigue that could put everything Jack loves in peril. In Random Act, everything seems like a coincidence—until it doesn’t.
- GenresFiction
380 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 4, 2019
15 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 18, 2021
First Sentence: It was December 5, a Wednesday.
A simple trip to the hardware store leaves reporter Jack McMorrow questioning the randomness of life. Or is it. His search for that answer takes him into a very dark side of Maine. When Jack and his friend Clair go to visit Iraq war veteran Louis, they are stopped by Marta, a Russian woman, a bag full of money and who's prepared to shoot them. How much is one willing to risk in the name of friendship?
No prologue, no narrative from a killer, no backflash; how wonderful it is to have an author who begins the story at the beginning and moves it on from there. The sense of place is created, and an immediate threat and suspense are established as well as a strong introduction to the main characters.
Boyle has an excellent voice—"BBC News, the usual reports from the yawing deck of the Titanic that is our world., and an ear for dialogue that's quick and sharp. Seeing McMorrow hypothesize the incident in the hardware store is fascinating. He takes all the pieces and puts them back together into a whole. Boyle echoes what most would think in this situation—"I didn't want to accept that this was normal." Yet Jack's reaction provides a very powerful explanation as to what motivates journalists.
Boyle is very good at laying a path of subtle breadcrumbs, but it is McMorrow's questioning of life which stands out—"We do the best we can, but sometimes we're still just squirrels crossing the road. Most of the time you're lucky. Other times, your luck runs out." One can also appreciate his perception that when a violent crime is committed, it is not only the victim, but their family and the family of the perpetrator who suffers the cost.
Boyle understands mental illness. He makes a point of portraying one of the characters as a man who has a lot of good but is ill rather than evil. It is exceptionally well done.
"Random Act" is a book of two threads, each of which holds its own. This may be the most insightful book Boyle has written. It may also be his best.
RANDOM ACT (Reporter-Jack McMorrow-Maine-Contemp) - Ex
Boyle, Gerry – 12th in series
Islandport Press – June 2019
A simple trip to the hardware store leaves reporter Jack McMorrow questioning the randomness of life. Or is it. His search for that answer takes him into a very dark side of Maine. When Jack and his friend Clair go to visit Iraq war veteran Louis, they are stopped by Marta, a Russian woman, a bag full of money and who's prepared to shoot them. How much is one willing to risk in the name of friendship?
No prologue, no narrative from a killer, no backflash; how wonderful it is to have an author who begins the story at the beginning and moves it on from there. The sense of place is created, and an immediate threat and suspense are established as well as a strong introduction to the main characters.
Boyle has an excellent voice—"BBC News, the usual reports from the yawing deck of the Titanic that is our world., and an ear for dialogue that's quick and sharp. Seeing McMorrow hypothesize the incident in the hardware store is fascinating. He takes all the pieces and puts them back together into a whole. Boyle echoes what most would think in this situation—"I didn't want to accept that this was normal." Yet Jack's reaction provides a very powerful explanation as to what motivates journalists.
Boyle is very good at laying a path of subtle breadcrumbs, but it is McMorrow's questioning of life which stands out—"We do the best we can, but sometimes we're still just squirrels crossing the road. Most of the time you're lucky. Other times, your luck runs out." One can also appreciate his perception that when a violent crime is committed, it is not only the victim, but their family and the family of the perpetrator who suffers the cost.
Boyle understands mental illness. He makes a point of portraying one of the characters as a man who has a lot of good but is ill rather than evil. It is exceptionally well done.
"Random Act" is a book of two threads, each of which holds its own. This may be the most insightful book Boyle has written. It may also be his best.
RANDOM ACT (Reporter-Jack McMorrow-Maine-Contemp) - Ex
Boyle, Gerry – 12th in series
Islandport Press – June 2019
June 10, 2019
Maybe the best Jack McMorrow yet. McMorrow, Claire, their friend Louis, McMorrow's family: all characters deeply felt and well-drawn. We feel the jeopardy. Story revolves around a seemingly random killing at a seemingly innocent location and the intrigue, lies, and human frailties that lead people astray. And a parallel subplot asks us in another way what we'd do for our families and those we love. Because I know the area, I'm always impressed with how Boyle renders the lives and characters and weather and landscape of the parts of Maine where Downeast Magazine rarely goes. Helluva read, and much more than a "mere" crime novel.
December 30, 2021
I've read many books in this series, and they all ring changes on the same story: Jack encounters and investigates criminals, including rural Maine scumbags, and he and stalwart friend Clair do battle with them while their women circle the wagons. This book moves along but doesn't bring anything significant to the series or its recurring characters. It is marred by several annoying errors that a good copy editor should have corrected: missing words, spelling the Florida town Zephyrhills as two words, and inexplicably, using lower case letters on many words that should be capitalized: us marshal, patriots, and various people's names, while correctly capitalizing, for example, Ford Explorer. I find it ironic (and all too common) that the writer thanks his copy editor for doing a careful job.
November 28, 2020
Just finished Random Act by Gerry Boyle. I didn't randomly read it. I knew the 'Jack McMorrow' series is as good as it gets. This one is proof positive of that. It's one of the very best in this strong series. McMorrow & Varney are the dynamic duo of the genre. Act now and get your copy.
December 26, 2020
With each book Jack becomes more of an adult. Good book!
May 18, 2021
It’s been a while since I followed Jack through one of his aggressive plots. As always, this one was very satisfying.
Read
February 21, 2024an excellent read! I am now a Jack McMorrow fan, and plan on finding some more of Gerrry Boyle's books to read!
February 9, 2020
This novel is two mysteries in one. The first has to do with the intentions of Marta, the new girlfriend of the hero’s close friend, Louis. The second has to do with his attempt to make sense of a horrific random act of violence. The two stories are linked only through the fact that Jack McMorrow is investigating them at the same time.
Jack is a newspaper reporter with what I gathered to be a violent past. He’s comfortable with guns and he and his friends are quite capable of taking care of themselves. While going to visit his friend Louis, he is accosted with a gun by Louis’ new girlfriend, Marta. She has a difficult past. Her very wealthy and abusive boyfriend has just been tortured, killed, and robbed by Russian mobsters and there is a great deal of concern that they will come after her next. She is a very cold and disturbing individual. She clearly came to Louis for protection and she has no concern at all that her presence might endanger Jack’s family. She expects Jack to protect her because he’s Louis’ friend. The longer the novel proceeds, the more disturbing Marta gets, especially when Jack starts poking holes in her story.
The random act of violence of the title is the better mystery, especially as Jack become the target of hostile acts as he investigates the story. A homeless and clearly unstable man murders a woman with a hatchet as she enters a store. Jack almost sees it happen and he can’t stop trying to make some sense of this seemingly arbitrary murder. I figured out what had actually happened very early in the tale and was disappointed that it took until the end of the book for Jack to even consider my theory, but that didn’t mean the mystery wasn’t a good one or that the tension didn’t rise considerably as Jack gets closer and closer to the truth.
Boyle thought through his mystery very well. His characters are well drawn and I liked Jack very much. It helped considerably that narrator, Michael A. Smith, did such a great job bringing the novel to life.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
Jack is a newspaper reporter with what I gathered to be a violent past. He’s comfortable with guns and he and his friends are quite capable of taking care of themselves. While going to visit his friend Louis, he is accosted with a gun by Louis’ new girlfriend, Marta. She has a difficult past. Her very wealthy and abusive boyfriend has just been tortured, killed, and robbed by Russian mobsters and there is a great deal of concern that they will come after her next. She is a very cold and disturbing individual. She clearly came to Louis for protection and she has no concern at all that her presence might endanger Jack’s family. She expects Jack to protect her because he’s Louis’ friend. The longer the novel proceeds, the more disturbing Marta gets, especially when Jack starts poking holes in her story.
The random act of violence of the title is the better mystery, especially as Jack become the target of hostile acts as he investigates the story. A homeless and clearly unstable man murders a woman with a hatchet as she enters a store. Jack almost sees it happen and he can’t stop trying to make some sense of this seemingly arbitrary murder. I figured out what had actually happened very early in the tale and was disappointed that it took until the end of the book for Jack to even consider my theory, but that didn’t mean the mystery wasn’t a good one or that the tension didn’t rise considerably as Jack gets closer and closer to the truth.
Boyle thought through his mystery very well. His characters are well drawn and I liked Jack very much. It helped considerably that narrator, Michael A. Smith, did such a great job bringing the novel to life.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
August 15, 2019
Once again, Gerry Boyle has given Jack McMorrow a great story to pursue—with no pat answer in sight. When a seemingly random killing occurs in the big box Home Department store, he can't hake the feeling that a few more moments in conversation with the victim might have kept her out of the path of the man who would become her killer. To honor her, to do the right thing, he begins where he must—reporting and researching the story behind the event. Then, when an old friend of Louis's shows up—an attractive woman with a past and the only survivor of a home invasion, it seems—McMorrow is unable to take that story at face value either. McMorrow's quest for truth puts him in conflict with those he trusts, as he follows his journalistic instinct and digs deep for answers. Boyle provides us with not only three-dimensional characters, but also a realistic picture of life and challenges in rural Maine. Jack McMorrow is a hero to love, with his commitment to doing the right thing, love for friends and family, and willingness to fight for what is right. His smart-alecky offhand humor is also a delight, which breaks the tension at opportune moments.
August 25, 2019
4.5 Who would think a trip to a hardware store to buy a toilet would put reporter Jack McMorrow at the scene of a gruesome ax murder? Teal, in a fantasy comic book world of his own, has killed the villain, Perkele -in the form of a pleasant woman Jack had exchanged a few words with before entering the store. To the police, this is a slam-dunk case; witnesses and the camera captured it all. But Jack, writing for the New York Times, wants to know the why. It takes him down a rabbit hole of homeless and mentally ill people.
The other story line involves a friend Louis. When he doesn't show up to cut wood with Clair and Jack, they find he has a Russian woman with him fleeing from the Russian mob with a large sum of money. Louis was in love with her back in high school. She is a survivor but what harm will she bring to Louis and to Jack and Clair's families?
Loyalty, family, friendship, protecting friends and loved ones because it is the right thing to do, mental illness all come into play. I'm also a part-timer in Maine and finally spent a little time in the area where Boyle writes about. That makes a book all that more interesting!
The other story line involves a friend Louis. When he doesn't show up to cut wood with Clair and Jack, they find he has a Russian woman with him fleeing from the Russian mob with a large sum of money. Louis was in love with her back in high school. She is a survivor but what harm will she bring to Louis and to Jack and Clair's families?
Loyalty, family, friendship, protecting friends and loved ones because it is the right thing to do, mental illness all come into play. I'm also a part-timer in Maine and finally spent a little time in the area where Boyle writes about. That makes a book all that more interesting!
October 11, 2019
Jack McMorrow is a freelance reporter for the New York Times. He lives in rural Maine near Unity with his wife and young daughter. His neighbor Clair is a married best friend and ex-Marine, while Clair’s loner friend Louis is another ex-Marine who lives with his dog Friend on his 300 acres of woodland. The three have each other’s backs. When Jack is in the store where a woman is attacked by a man, living in a comic book world, with an ax and when the love of Louis’ life shows up on the run from perhaps the Russian mob, they back each other as they all work with different levels of intensity to solve what is happening, what is right and what is evil, and how to manage survivor’s guilt.
There are many interesting characters. The stories interweave well and keep readers turning pages for just one more chapter. And then another. The only fault is some instances of sloppy proofing. Too small to spoil this well crafted read.
There are many interesting characters. The stories interweave well and keep readers turning pages for just one more chapter. And then another. The only fault is some instances of sloppy proofing. Too small to spoil this well crafted read.
August 4, 2020
A Jack McMorrow is a freelance journalist in Maine after a previous career in NYC. He has built a good life for himself, but the oddest complex occurrences fall into his path and sometimes he truly fears for his life. After the first murder it appears as if Jack is being targeted but the rest of the story is so convoluted that it kept me reading at intervals until solved. Loved it.
Remember-there are no coincidences in life or in crime fiction!
This is the first one with ancillary narrators, but Michael A. Smith remains the voice of Jack both in and outside of his head and all do a great job of interpretation.
Remember-there are no coincidences in life or in crime fiction!
This is the first one with ancillary narrators, but Michael A. Smith remains the voice of Jack both in and outside of his head and all do a great job of interpretation.
March 30, 2019
In my opinion, one of the best in the McMorrow series. Jack is back on his hard-nosed investigative reporter beat for the NYT, when an axe murder takes place in the local big-box Home Department store where Jack is picking up -of all things - a new toilet. The seedy underside of Maine is explored as Jack follows his instincts and meets up with meth heads, rednecks and a woman fleeing the Russian mob. Great stuff.
September 21, 2019
I am a huge fan of Gerry Boyle. In particular, his Jack McMorrow series and this book does not disappoint. As usual, I devoured the book in just a few days of reading. It is all I wanted to do in the evenings.
The wry sense of humor of Jack mixed with his 'tough Marine Corps' friend Clare keep this moving with 2 deaths woven throughout the book.
The wry sense of humor of Jack mixed with his 'tough Marine Corps' friend Clare keep this moving with 2 deaths woven throughout the book.
May 28, 2020
Wow, came to the end of Jack McMorrow series! I'll have to find another author until the next one comes out. I liked this one more than some of the others, I didn't feel Jack's family was in imminent danger, like some of the other books. I'm glad Louis is a continuing character and look forward to the next installment!
October 16, 2019
Though this book was fast moving and enjoyable, it was too easy to figure out who the bad guy is.
December 15, 2019
Specially liked tension-relief scenes with McMorrow´s daughter and the geographic detail.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews