Al Nye The Lawyer Guy

Except for strictly regional writing, it's seldom that a mystery author even mentions Portland, Maine. Face it; mysteries and thrillers typically deal with the most violent of crimes: murder, kidnapping, assault, terrorism. And compared to nearby Boston and New York, Portland isn't exactly a hotbed of urban crime. So it's not surprising that the city has been passed over as a prime location for writers – until now.

Three books published in the last couple of months have featured Portland as the location for their stories. In addition to providing a vivid description of Maine's largest city (and several surrounding suburbs), each of the books are well-written and highly entertaining.

This isn't Stephen King writing about his fictional Maine locations of 'Salem's Lot or Castle Rock. These are writers describing Portland and other Maine towns as they presently exist – often using easily identifiable landmarks. So if you've ever wondered what a topnotch novel would be like if it featured places where you live, work or routinely visit, pick up any one of these excellent novels.

  

The Lovers

By John Connolly

Atria Books

$26.00, hard cover, 344 pages, 978-1-2019-6954-1 (2009)

 

            A couple of months ago I had the great pleasure of listening to John Connolly give a short presentation and read from his book The Lovers at the Great Lost Bear. I've heard Connolly speak several times and each time he does, I'm initially amazed. Not that he can speak – he's not mute or anything. Rather, I'm astounded by his voice.

If you don't know it, Connolly lives in Dublin and is Irish. I mean really Irish. With such a thick Irish accent (think: Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart) that is so at odds with his writing style that it's startling.

After all, Connolly writes like he's from Maine often chooses Maine locations for his novels. In The Lovers, the main character, Charlie Parker, is a private investigator who has lost his license and is tending bar at the Great Lost Bear.

In just a few paragraphs, Connolly accurately describes the Great Lost Bear and its patrons.

The Bear's main claim to fame, apart for its general conviviality and the fact that it served food until late, was its beer selection: fifty-six draft beers at any one time, sometimes even sixty. Despite its location in a quiet part of the city not far from the University of Southern Maine's campus, it had built up a considerable reputation over the years, and now the summer, which used to be slow, was its busiest time.

As well as locals, the Bear attracted the beer aficionados, most of whom where men, and men of a certain age. They didn't cause trouble, they didn't overindulge, and mostly they were content to talk about hops and casks and obscure microbreweries of which even some of the bartenders had never heard, In fact, the more obscure they were, the better, for there was a kind of competitiveness among a certain group of drinkers at the Bear. Occasionally, the sight of a woman might distract them from the task at hand for a time, but there would be other women. There wouldn't always be a guy sitting next to them who had tried every microbrew in Portland, Oregon, but knew squat about Portland, Maine.

 

The Lovers is a terrific novel – one of Connolly's best. Charlie Parker is a recurring character in many of his books – beginning with Every Dead Thing written ten years ago. This book is about Parker investigating his own past – including the death of his father. And as Parker unravels the puzzle of his past, evil forces are looking for him.

If you haven't read any of Connolly's novels yet, you're in for a treat. His books are often dark, disturbing, and totally impossible to put down. But if you're a purist in your passion about crime fiction, be forewarned. Connolly often (and this is a sore spot with him if you listen to him speak on one of his book tours) mixes the supernatural into his writing. (Think of your favorite mystery writer – with a touch of Stephen King thrown in for good measure.)

Buy The Lovers on Amazon here.

 

Port City Shake Down

By Gerry Boyle

Down East

$24.95, hard cover, 264 pages, 978-089272795-7 (2009)

 

Gerry Boyle is a writer's writer. That means that other writers will consider the technical aspects of his writing superb. And they are – especially his ear for dialog.

In Port City Shake Down, Boyle's lead character Brandon Blake is riding with a Portland cop as part of his training. They travel down Commercial Street past the ferry terminal and turn the police cruiser toward the water. Brandon points to the South Portland marina across the harbor.

                        "I'm right over there," he said.   

            Griffin pulled over and they sat, the radio chirping softly, like a baby bird in a nest.

                        "Where?" Griffin said.

            Brandon pointed out over the harbor, white mooring buoys, showing against the blue water, the surface rippled like sand on a beach. Brandon loved to watch the way the wind played with water, never the same way twice.

                        "See all those boats? I have a slip over there."

                        "You live on a freakin' boat?"

                        "Yeah."

                        Griffin looked at him again, more closely.

                        "What is it? A yacht?"

                        "An old Chris-Craft. A cabin cruiser, you'd call it."

                        "Why?"

                        "Why what?"

                        "Why don't you live in a house?"

                        "Kind of a long story," Brandon said.

Griffin stared across the harbor at the tangled nest of masses and moorings. "Winter too?"

            "Sure," Brandon said. "You frame it in with plastic. Heat it with propane."

            "Don't think that I could do that," Griffin said. "Claustrophobic, you know?"

            "It's not for everyone."

 

            Just like living on a boat isn't for everyone, neither is this book. Don't get me wrong – it's exceptionally well written. The characters are true to life, the plot is engaging, and the descriptions of Portland are accurate.

Boyle is an experienced writer with five other novels under his belt. His previous books were written in the first person and featured a journalist named McMorrow who lived in western Maine. This novel is a departure; it's written in the third person and is centered in Portland and its surrounding towns.

            Boyle is a past newspaper writer and is currently editor of Colby Magazine published by Colby College. And for me at least, that's the problem. I've read several of Boyle's books and have always been struck by how they read like a newspaper article: expertly written but more informative than entertaining.

            I see Boyle's books much like a police investigation: plodding, methodical, single-minded and dogged. He writes a fine mystery – but it lacks the pace, intensity and suspense of a thriller.  

Buy Port City Shakedown on Amazon here.

 

 

The Cutting

By James Hayman

Minotaur Books

$24.95, hard cover, 326 pages, 978-0-312-53129-4 (2009)

 

I'm always delighted to read an author's first novel. In 1999, when I read John Connolly's first book Every Dead Thing, I said to myself that Connolly is the real deal. Reading James Hayman's The Cutting had me saying the same thing: this guy can write!

The novel centers on Detective Sergeant Michael McCabe, a recent escapee of New York City, who has come to live in Portland with his young daughter to get away from an ex-wife and the memory of his brother's death. McCabe is the head of the Crimes Against People unit of the Portland police department. He soon finds that Portland can be every bit as deadly as the Big Apple.

            McCabe is off duty when the report of trouble comes in.

           

The summer crowds in the Old Port had thinned now that Labor Day had come and gone, but the air was warm, and Exchange Street bustled with energy. Shops and restaurants were open late and busy. Packs of teenagers in varying states of grunge – some with piercings and tattoos and some without – spread themselves across the sidewalks, forcing middle-aged tourist out onto the narrow streets.

Detective Sergeant Michael McCabe and Kyra Erikson walked in step, side by side, holding hands. Seeing them absorbed in each other's company, chatting happily, it would have been easy for a passerby to conclude, correctly, that they were lovers.

 

            McCabe and Erikson are going out to dinner but he's called away before he can eat. His number two detective in his unit, Maggie Savage, reports that the body of a sixteen-year old girl from Portland High School is found in a scrap metal yard with her heart cut out, and on the same day he learns that a young businesswoman disappears while jogging in Portland's West End.

At the scene where the body is found, McCabe feels a familiar rage at the murder.

            Standing there in the scrap yard in Portland, Maine, McCabe suddenly had the feeling he was back in New York. It wasn't like he was imagining it, remembering it. It was like he was really there. He could hear the rush of the city. He could smell the stink of it. A hundred bloodied corpses paraded before his eyes. His right hand drew comfort from resting on the handle of his gun. Mike McCabe, once again lured to the chase. He knew with an absolute certainty that this was his calling. That it was here, among the killers and the killed, that he belonged. No matter how far he ran, no matter how well he hid, he'd never leave the violence or his fascination with it behind.

 

McCabe soon comes to believe that the crimes are committed by the same man and he must use all his experience as a senior detective to rescue the missing woman and find those responsible. The clues lead him to believe that other crimes have been committed by the killer and that more lives are at stake.

Hayman's debut novel is a stunning roller-coaster ride that will have you holding on for dear life. This is a top-notch thriller not to be missed.

Buy The Cutting on Amazon here.