Asbury Park

Sailor Doyle

by Rob Scott

Following on from 15 Miles, this second thrilling police procedural with supernatural elements is perfect for fans of Patricia Cornwell, John Connolly, and Stephen King
 
Ten weeks ago, Homicide Detective Sailor Doyle worked his first solo case, a gruesome double murder in a remote farmhouse in Virginia, and things turned very nasty for him. Now Sailor is recuperating with his family at a beach house in Belmar, on the New Jersey shore. He's struggling with prescription drug withdrawal while trying to build up his shattered shoulder and leg, and he's also trying to rebuild his shattered relationship with his wife. Jenny, while pleased he's alive, is less enamored with the idea of reconciliation. Seeking refuge in a century-old beachfront resort hotel, Sailor meets an elderly man, Mark "Moses" Stillman, a former minor league baseball player whose wife and daughter drowned in the ocean off Belmar years earlier. Sailor's having nightmares about his previous case, and when he starts seeing things again, he realizes that once again he's being guided to the truth, even if it's not what he wants to hear—and it's not long before he finds himself investigating those deaths.

502 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2011

About the author

Robert Michael Scott aka Robert Scott, with father-in-law Jay Gordon.

Reviews

[Scary · Rating 1 out of 5]

such a slow burner, it's almost painful. when you compare to 15 miles

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last year, author Rob Scott made my top-ten list with 15 Miles , the first book in the Sailor Doyle series. When I heard about Asbury Park, the second installment, I was excited. Despite my enthusiasm, there was also a bit of fear: just like musicians, many authors succumb to the curse of a weak sophomore effort. After finishing the book, I can tell you this: Scott matched the dark aura, clever writing, outstanding storytelling, and superb character development displayed in 15 Miles...and then surpassed it.

You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Bomac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as advertised

The book is very well written with good descriptions of the jersey shore. The summary state it is about a Virginia police officer who comes back to New Jersey to recover from injuries and drug addiction. The story rambles and goes back in time to a story of Canadian politics and corruption. It then goes further off the rails and becomes a story of the supernatural. I would stay away from this book.

[Garrett Reed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utter garbage. Pure trash. Just don’t.

[Phil Leader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virginia State Trooper Samuel 'Sailor' Doyle is recovering from his previous case, also trying to save his marriage and his job. Although he is a national hero he is suspended and under investigation for shooting a suspect while under the influence of prescription pain killers. To rehabilitate he takes his wife, young son and baby daughter to the beach near Asbury Park in New Jersey.

Doyle's problems are many: His wife has discovered that he had an affair, he is in withdrawal from his drug and alcohol abuse and he is still recovering from being shot. But far from getting away from it all his vacation just throws mysterious deaths at Doyle and strange things happen. He hears Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here playing from what seems like every car that passes and every shop he goes into as well as an old callope fairground tune. He starts to persuade himself that events are connected and sets out to find out what is going on.

This book definitely follows its own path and refused to be pigeon- holed into one genre or another. In the main this is a police procedural with Doyle assisting the local police with a gang related shooting and his own investigations into events that occurred in the 1970s in Canada. But the weirdness of the Pink Floyd, scratches and greasepaint (to name just a few of the odd occurrences that Doyle encounters) takes it beyond this and into the realms of the paranormal with Doyle convinced he is being haunted by the ghost of a dead teenager - or that he is going insane.

All this means that it is going to divide opinion (and quick check of the scores given to the book confirm that). It is not a standard police procedural so will disappoint if that is what is expected. But neither is it a ghost or horror story in the classic sense and so will disappoint if that is what is expected as well. What it is is an exploration of despair, revenge and redemption set against the decaying backdrop of the faded glory of the towns between Asbury Park and Spring Lake. Take the story on its own merits and go where it leads is my advice. Live a little.

I really liked the writing. There is a very noir feel to the way Doyle narrates the events first person and a certain nihilism to a lot of his observations that can be quite amusing. The other characters are also good and his interations with them very well written. Hodges the local detective he both assists and irritates is great as is her right hand man, Ed Hess to name just two.

The pace is slow, giving the story time to unfold but never dull or boring. When events do occur they are almost jarring and some of the more supernatural experiences of Doyle did send shivers down my spine.

The revelations of the story behind everything does work (in the terms of the book) and closure is finally achieved at the end, I couldn't think of a loose end that wasn't tidied up. Yes there isn't a rational explanation for everything - at least not if filtered by Doyle's somewhat damaged perception - but there is an explanation.

I didn't hesitate to give this book 5 stars. It was one of those that I enjoyed reading hugely and didn't want to get to the end... but wanted to get to the end to find out what happened. Overall I rate this book very highly.

Rating: Lots of violence, language and dead bodies

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detective novels that feature amateur or armchair detectives often share a common problem--the only way for the author to get the protagonist involved in the murder investigation is to kill off someone they know, which (over the course of a series) can make for a morbid, unlucky, and rather depressed central character. I suppose the same is true when a police detective goes on vacation. Take him (or her) out of their everyday milieu, and you need to find some way to draw them into the action. So it is for our hero (or antihero), Sailor Doyle. He's been put on probation and short-term disability to recover from the wounds he sustained (and the depravities he committed) during his last homicide investigation. He assumes that a month at the Jersey shore will give him time to recover from his gunshot wounds, kick the OxyContin habit, and salvage his foundering marriage. Instead, within days of arriving at the beach, he stumbles into a bizarre suicide that is so suspicious it might actually be murder; foils a school shooting in a bumbling manner that inflames a simmering regional drug war; and gets entangled in a decades-old murder that strays into political intrigue and international counterespionage. Author Rob Scott sustains Doyle's distinctive perspective and sarcastic wit, but about halfway through the book I began to feel there were a few too many criminal investigations entangled together, and a few too many red herrings. In the end, they converge in a series of rather improbable coincidences, some of which cross over into the supernatural. Fans of books that hybridize the police procedural with science fiction or fantasy might be fascinated by the ingenious way Scott wraps it all up, but if you have trouble suspending disbelief, you may be disappointed. The most endearing and entertaining feature of the book is Doyle himself, and I will continue to read the series because I so enjoy his acid wit and resolute refusal to lie to himself about what a jerk he can be. Some of the secondary characters begin to assume greater importance in the book, especially Doyle's wife, Jenny, who emerges from the background as a smart, independent, and beautiful woman who is more than Doyle's equal and who has no intention of letting him off easy. Doyle continues to grow on me as we learn more about him through his interactions with Jenny and his children. I look forward to the next chapter in his story.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book because it was set amongst some of the great landmarks of my childhood. It had engaging, compelling characters, and a cool interesting protagonist. I felt the mystery surrounding Moses Stillman was nurtured along nicely. My only complaint is that I feel that if you are going to bill something as a ghost story, you better get to the ghosts pretty quickly, rather than drag them along dully as possible hallucinations until almost the end. One other minor complaint, as a Jersey girl, I felt the tenor of the Shore and the Jersey-ness of it were very well done, but the publisher should have gone the extra mile for the US market and Americanized the vocab, the British spellings and slang is distracting and takes you out of the story.

I will look forward to his next eagerly.

[Phillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good story and it did hold my interest, most of the time. It was just so dog-gone long. It just seemed to drag on and on. It wasn't one of those sit at the edge of the seat, don't want the book to end....it was an almost sit at the edge of your seat, boy am I glad that's over.Then you add in a bit of supernatural and you're thinking Detective Doyle is losing his mind. He's got too many injuries for anyone to stand plus some drug withdrawal, and the DTs and he's off to the loony bin. It turns out he's not so loony after all. I did like that the author wrote the book's setting in an area I know well. Yes, he did take some poetic license with some of the settings, but that is a writers privilege. I don't mind it if its explained in the Author's Notes.

[Simon Gosden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh dear lord this is fun. Sailor Doyle, an anti-hero in the Repairman Jack mode, has had a load of trouble. He's a recovering alcoholic who also has a keen drug problem, he's been shot and his wife may be leaving him. They decide to chill out with their two kids on the New Jersey shore. But Sailor's plans come to nothing as tragedy strikes and he is faced with an impossible crime...it seems that some things never die! A crime story with a supernatural theme...gripping

[Harry Walton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculously over plotted. Too many far fetched and tenuous threads. Would have shoe horned the kitchen sink in if he could. Summed up by the tortuous epilogue. Passages with the protagonist and his children worked best but can't redeem an overall mess.

[Ian J · Rating 3 out of 5]

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