Cover Story

It’s been seven years since Jack McMorrow moved to small-town Maine. Seven years of stringing stories—and murders—together in the backwoods has been an adventure, sure, but it has also meant a big dent in the paycheck. In this, the sixth installment of Islandport’s updated and revised paperback and e-book editions of the internationally best-selling Jack McMorrow series, the mast head has changed at the New York Times, and Jack is invited back to cover his old Metro beat. Unsure at first, Jack quickly finds his feet, moving swiftly into the incessant hustle and flow of the city. Then, the Mayor is murdered in a hotel restroom, and Jack gets the ultimate cover story—or so he thinks. But the phone is ringing and the questions aren’t friendly. Jack is about to become the prime suspect in his own story. Called an "outstanding crime novel" by Booklist when it was first published in 2000, Cover Story is Boyle at his best.

Like many crime novelists, 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 tuff 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.