Potshot

Predicting the days of marijuana legalization, this, the fourth McMorrow story, delves deep into backwoods growing and drug dealing, and the damage it can do when big, urban traffickers enter the picture. Jack alternates between the back-to-landers living communally on the outskirts of Florence, Maine, and confrontations with urban gangsters moving in on the product—and the people who Jack’s come to know. Library Journal says, "Along with snappy dialog that propels the story, Boyle presents an ensemble of likable characters. A sure thing for anyone who has enjoyed Robert Parker’s Spenser." Cronies at a county fair, an assassination attempt, and hostages are only a few of the challenges McMorrow has to face in this fast-paced addition to the McMorrow legacy.

Like many crime novelists, Gerry Boyle began his writing career in newspapers—the best training ground ever. After Colby College, he knocked around, including stints as a roofer, a postman, and a manuscript reader at a big New York publisher. His first reporting job was with a weekly in the paper mill town of Rumford, Maine. After a few months it was on to the (Waterville, Maine) Morning Sentinel, where editors learned early on that he worked best when left to his own devices. He wrote about stuff he saw in police stations, courtrooms, in the towns and cities of Maine. Deadline came out in 1993. With an assist from Robert B. Parker, he landed a top-flight literary agent and the books came steadily after that. McMorrow and Boyle grew up together, though at different rates.