The Gray and Guilty Sea: A Garrison Gage Mystery [NOOK Book]

( 34 )

Overview

A curmudgeon. An iconoclast. A loner. That's how people describe Garrison Gage, and that's when they're being charitable. After his wife's brutal murder in New York, and Gage himself is beaten nearly to death, the crippled private investigator retreats three thousand miles to the quaint coastal town of Barnacle Bluffs, Oregon. He spends the next five years in a convalescent stupor, content to bide his time filling out crossword puzzles and trying to forget that his wife's death is his fault. But all that changes ...
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The Gray and Guilty Sea: A Garrison Gage Mystery

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More About This Book

Overview

A curmudgeon. An iconoclast. A loner. That's how people describe Garrison Gage, and that's when they're being charitable. After his wife's brutal murder in New York, and Gage himself is beaten nearly to death, the crippled private investigator retreats three thousand miles to the quaint coastal town of Barnacle Bluffs, Oregon. He spends the next five years in a convalescent stupor, content to bide his time filling out crossword puzzles and trying to forget that his wife's death is his fault. But all that changes when he discovers the body of a young woman washed up on the beach, and his conscience draws him back into his old occupation – forcing him to confront the demons of his own guilt before he can hope to solve the girl's murder.
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Editorial Reviews

Book Reviews
"It was a shrewd marketing move for author Jack Nolte to entitle his first mystery novel The Gray and Guilty Sea. It makes it nearly irresistible for an old John D. MacDonald fan like me . . . Recommended." -- Brandywine Books

"The Gray and Guilty Sea is quite an enjoyable novel that engages a reader on multiple levels." -- Stimulated Outlet Book Reviews
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Product Details

  • BN ID: 2940012566751
  • Publisher: Flying Raven Press
  • Publication date: 10/26/2010
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Sales rank: 49,181
  • File size: 2 MB

Meet the Author

JACK NOLTE is the mystery and suspense pen name of award-winning writer Scott William Carter. Critics raved that The Gray and Guilty Sea, the first book featuring the crippled and curmudgeonly Garrison Gage, was "irresistible" and "a fascinating character study." Under his own name, Carter's first novel, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, was hailed by Publishers Weekly as a "touching and impressive debut" and won the prestigious Oregon Book Award. Since then, he has published nine novels and over fifty short stories, his fiction spanning a wide variety of genres and styles. His most recent book for younger readers, Wooden Bones, chronicles the untold story of Pinocchio and was singled out for praise by the Junior Library Guild. He lives a stone's throw from the Oregon coast with his wife and two children. To find more information about Jack/Scott's other work, go to scottwilliamcarter.com.
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 34 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(15)

4 Star

(13)

3 Star

(6)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 34 Customer Reviews

  • Posted August 2, 2011

    Could not put it done!

    Loved it! Highly recommended!

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 14, 2012

    Highly Recommended

    I read the free e book and then bought the sequel to it, It was really good book, I could not put it down, and when I put it down couldnt wait to get back to it. It is worth the read.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted June 1, 2012

    Just couldn't get into the story; I stopped reading after 100 pa

    Just couldn't get into the story; I stopped reading after 100 pages so perhaps I didn't give it a chance. Maybe I will give a try at another time.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 1, 2012

    Highly Recommend this book to any one who likes mistory and intreg

    The book is very exciting and easy to follow, good old fashion mistory who done it.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 12, 2013

    more from this reviewer

    Good introduction to an interesting character

    Another story of a flawed hero. The book reads relatively well and gets you involved in the characters (fairly well developed). The resolution of the story happens quickly at the end. A few too many typos/errors in the conversion of this book to an eBook. In the teaser for the next story in the series, a man was referenced as wearing a "rolodex" on his wrist. Quite funny, really.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 6, 2012

    Great read!

    Had never heard of this author, but pleasantly surprised. Looking forward to reading the sequel.

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  • Posted March 12, 2012

    Great Read

    Was pleasantly surprised when I finished this book. Have previously not read "Jack Nolte" books. Loved the character, Garrison Gage. Just had to buy rest of books within that series. Light, easy reading. Totally enjoyable. Hard to put down!!!! May check out other reads by Jack Nolte after completing the GG series I now have.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 14, 2012

    Good storyline...check it out

    I enjoyed the Garrison Gage as the main character in this book...he's human in his actions and thinking. The story line was good reading and moved quickly and smoothly. It kept me guessing until the end...I'd be glad to read more of Mr. Nolte's books.

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  • Posted January 28, 2012

    Great!

    I stumbled across this free "teaser" and had to buy the complete book. I very much liked it. I seem to gravitate to private investigator thrillers. This didn't disappoint. Oh...and I loved the spunk of Gage!!!

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  • Posted December 13, 2011

    Love it!

    Jack Nolte keeps you totally engaged in the story right up to the end. I would definitely read more of his books.

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  • Posted July 1, 2011

    Good Gooxd Good read

    Give it two thumbs up for characters and content.

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  • Posted June 7, 2011

    .

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted May 21, 2011

    Believable affable characters

    Thoroughly enjoyable read. Sure hope to see more of Garrison Gage and Jack Nolte. Good combination!

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  • Posted April 15, 2011

    what a great suprise

    i cant wait for another book with Garrison Gage!

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  • Posted March 10, 2011

    Torn between enjoyment and doubt

    Garrison Gage is a recluse in a tiny town, a retired private detective who looks at the world through a jaundiced eye. One could hardly blame him: his last case in New York left him a widower and a cripple. Passing his days with crossword puzzles and solitude, his gumshoe instincts are reawakened when he comes across a random dead girl on the beach. So much for retirement.

    In The Gray and Guilty Sea, Nolte draws us in right from the get-go. Everything after that is a fast-paced story that keeps you wondering what the next location or contact will reveal. The path is not so much twisted as it is hidden; there are no sudden surprises, but the mystery still takes some time, and a great deal of Gage's energy, to unravel. Woven into the fabric are subplots involving a love interest and an ailing neighbor, as well as said neighbor's teenage granddaughter. Nolte successfully develops these without detracting from the main storyline, adding depth to Gage's character without losing steam.

    With his crotchety personality and his love of getting under other people's skins, Gage is a good representation of a character who would be irritating to work with but thoroughly entertaining to observe. His analysis of those around him is spot-on, thus earning a reader's trust in his abilities as a private detective. Unfortunately, other parts of his persona were a bit less credible.

    Gage is touted to be a well-versed reader, a connoisseur of jazz, an appreciator of art, and yet a man of simple pleasures. This isn't to say that a person can't be that complex, but something about the presentation of these personality traits -subtle shifts in Gage's speaking style, perhaps - make them difficult to integrate. Instances of him reading philosophy or listening to Coltrane might have boosted the legitimacy of these claims. In a similar manner, the commonality of interests between him and Carmen is a little too perfect, and equally unsupported from his previous interactions with her. Mysteries have a tendency to turn readers into skeptics, digging deeper into characters than they might otherwise do; thus the bar for characterizations is set that much higher. In the end, I disregarded the extraneous information in order to avoid losing faith in the rest of the story.

    For the most part, the novel is well-written, with a delivery that is efficient without becoming brusque. It meshed well with Gage's voice, his inner monologues flowing seamlessly into his spoken words. Even so, there were scattered passages in which it was glaringly obvious that someone breezed through the editing process. Awkwardly worded sentences, as well as multiple issues with homophones (eg. "waved" for "waived", "not" for "naught") were bothersome, but what really got me were two instances in which characters' names were actually changed: "Tommy" for "Jimmy" and "Angie" for "Zoe". They jarred me right out of the storyline, and it took some effort to convince myself to ignore them long enough to rekindle my interest in the book.

    Nolte has a good grasp of emotion and human responses and credible actions. In that respect, The Gray and Guilty Sea is quite an enjoyable novel that engages a reader on multiple levels. The ending itself was more than satisfactory. Still, convenient coincidences and forced details diminished its plausibility. Methinks that Gage's cynicism is contagious.

    -Stimulated Outlet Bo

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  • Posted January 16, 2011

    good story

    Well written story with good story development

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 12, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 11, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 10, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 12, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

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