Friday, May 14, 2010

Review - The Ranks of Jody Brae


The Ranks of Jody Brae
BY: Jonathan Michael Cullen
PUBLISHED BY: Block Island Books
PUBLISHED IN: 2009
ISBN: 978097681691
Pages: 294
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Long before cell phones, computers and other electronics, police officers used only their know-how to solve cases. In “The Ranks of Jody Brae,” a Boston cop, Jody Brae, is one of those officers. Set during the 1960s, abandoned buildings are being burned by an unknown arsonist. The Arson Squad has determined that the fires are accidental, therefore the media is ignoring the incidents.

Detective Jody Brae, a Korea war veteran, begins investigating the fires on the same day he gets up the nerve to ask out the lovely Ruth. He’s assigned a new partner, a black man, Detective Harrigan. While Jody relationship with Ruth scorches, so does the streets of Boston. The arsonist strikes again, this time taking innocent lives.

Soon, Jody is abandoned by his own police department. He must go into the dark underworld of the Boston streets to solve the mystery of the fires, and his own past.

Jody Brae is your typical hero character with a troubled past. Unlike other mystery novels, this is set during the 1960s, and just like I mentioned before, there are no electronic gizmos to help Jody out. The dialogue is cleverly written, and so is the descriptions of the Boston streets. I didn’t care much for the love story, it’s been done to death. Overall, this is a entertaining read from a debut author. I recommend reading it.

- I would like to thank the author for sending me this copy to review.

1 comment:

  1. This sounds great!! I love the premise of the story - that there are no electronic devices to help solve the case. This sounds really interesting!! Thanks for the review!

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