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Raymond Donne Mystery #5
The Hook
Teacher Raymond Donne finds himself embroiled in another baffling murder case when his friend MoJo is found dead on the school roof, pierced by an arrow.
On the rooftop of Raymond Donne's school, Maurice 'MoJo' Joseph's lifeless body is found with an arrow sticking out of its back.
Mojo had recently gone through drug rehab, but was turning his life around. He had a baby on the way while also working at the school and for a security company. But was he so clean? Heroin was found in his system and in his possession, and he'd been secretly carrying out security work for a notorious White Nationalist.
Donne's ex-cop instincts tell him something doesn't add up. When Allison Rogers, an online journalist and Donne's long-time girlfriend, runs insider stories from a runaway of the White Nationalists and a mysterious man turns up saying MoJo was working for him, Donne takes it upon himself, with the help of his techno-friend Edgar, to investigate.
What was MoJo up to, and was he back to his old ways?
On the rooftop of Raymond Donne's school, Maurice 'MoJo' Joseph's lifeless body is found with an arrow sticking out of its back.
Mojo had recently gone through drug rehab, but was turning his life around. He had a baby on the way while also working at the school and for a security company. But was he so clean? Heroin was found in his system and in his possession, and he'd been secretly carrying out security work for a notorious White Nationalist.
Donne's ex-cop instincts tell him something doesn't add up. When Allison Rogers, an online journalist and Donne's long-time girlfriend, runs insider stories from a runaway of the White Nationalists and a mysterious man turns up saying MoJo was working for him, Donne takes it upon himself, with the help of his techno-friend Edgar, to investigate.
What was MoJo up to, and was he back to his old ways?
240 pages, Hardcover
Published March 3, 2020
3 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Tim O'Mara
15 books164 followersTim O’Mara has been teaching math and special education in the New York City public schools since 1987, 12 of them in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Sacrifice Fly, his first novel, introduces schoolteacher/ex-cop Raymond Donne and was nominated for the 2013 Best First Novel Barry Award. Other Donne mysteries: Crooked Numbers, Dead Red, Nasty Cutter, slated for release in the U.S. January 1, 2017. His short story, "The Tip," is published in Unloaded: Crime Writers Writing Without Guns and his novella, "Smoked" is available in Triple Shot: 3 Authors, 3 Novellas. Tim O'Mara lives and teaches in Manhattan.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 12, 2020
Racism at its very worst.
Raymond Donne, a teacher, is shocked to find that a fellow teacher, Maurice Joseph, has been killed by an arrow while attending to his hydroponic plants on the roof of the school. Detective James Royce is the lead investigator. He, too, is shocked that someone would use an arrow to kill someone in this brutal way.
Allison Rogers is Raymond's live-in girlfriend and a journalist. She's the first one to break the story of the murder of Maurice. At the same time, Allison is running a story about a young boy who has run away from the White Supremacists. Somehow, the killing and this young man are linked but to prove it is going to take some very intense investigating.
I found the use of slang annoying in the novel. I know it’s how people speak, but it grated every time I came across its use. The characters are almost too over-the-top, and I can't say that I particularly liked any of them and the only reason I carried on reading until the end was because I found the storyline intriguing. It never ceases to amaze me how violent the far right is. It always makes me wonder why we call them the far right and not terrorists because that’s what they are.
Rony
Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.
Raymond Donne, a teacher, is shocked to find that a fellow teacher, Maurice Joseph, has been killed by an arrow while attending to his hydroponic plants on the roof of the school. Detective James Royce is the lead investigator. He, too, is shocked that someone would use an arrow to kill someone in this brutal way.
Allison Rogers is Raymond's live-in girlfriend and a journalist. She's the first one to break the story of the murder of Maurice. At the same time, Allison is running a story about a young boy who has run away from the White Supremacists. Somehow, the killing and this young man are linked but to prove it is going to take some very intense investigating.
I found the use of slang annoying in the novel. I know it’s how people speak, but it grated every time I came across its use. The characters are almost too over-the-top, and I can't say that I particularly liked any of them and the only reason I carried on reading until the end was because I found the storyline intriguing. It never ceases to amaze me how violent the far right is. It always makes me wonder why we call them the far right and not terrorists because that’s what they are.
Rony
Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.
August 14, 2021
3.5 stars
I like this series featuring NY cop turned inner city teacher Ray Donne. In this book, Ray gets involved when a friend and recovering addict is murdered (by bow & arrow!) on the roof of Ray's school.
Meanwhile journalist girlfriend Allison is working on a series featuring a white supremacist's teenage son who "escapes" from his father.
The plot threads get entangled in a not quite plausible climactic finale which I am certain will result in some angst in the next book.
I like this series featuring NY cop turned inner city teacher Ray Donne. In this book, Ray gets involved when a friend and recovering addict is murdered (by bow & arrow!) on the roof of Ray's school.
Meanwhile journalist girlfriend Allison is working on a series featuring a white supremacist's teenage son who "escapes" from his father.
The plot threads get entangled in a not quite plausible climactic finale which I am certain will result in some angst in the next book.
August 27, 2020
This latest Raymond Donne book leaves you looking forward to the next! His characters evolvement through this series is great! I feel like I know them and care about them.
This entire series is a must read if you enjoy quirky characters, excellent writing and original plots.
This entire series is a must read if you enjoy quirky characters, excellent writing and original plots.
November 29, 2023
The set up for this book looked promising but the execution was lacking. I found the plot fairly ridiculous so a better writer probably couldn’t have pulled it off. To be frank I was surprised to learn this was not a debut novel but the fifth in the series.
July 8, 2020
better than average character and mystery
November 16, 2024
A compelling, exciting read.
March 1, 2020
How Mojo was killed- with an arrow- is as puzzling to his friend Raymond Donne as the fact that he was killed. Donne is a former cop turned teacher who can't keep away from solving mysteries. Turns out that there was a lot more going on in Mojo's life, especially including White Natonalists, that Donne knew. Donne's love interest Allison and his friend Edgar make good compatriots. The mystery of what happened isn't too twisty and this was a fast easy read for the genre. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'd missed the earlier books in this series and this was fine as a standalone for me.
January 10, 2020
The Hook is an intense suspense. Great plot. I received an arc from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews