Silent Joe

Rating:
Summary: Silent Joe should have kept his mouth shut
Review: Although a vast improvement over "Laguna Heat", Parker's first novel, "Silent Joe" really should have not opened his mouth at all. This reviewer is amazed that this book won an Edgar. There must have been very slim pickings that year.
The characters, especially the protagonist, Joe Trona, are unconvincing. Most of them hardly rise above the level of trite stereotypes. The crooked, low-class bureaucrat with the working-class name who is almost indistinguishable from the same character cast as a union boss/thug. The venal, sinful, wealth-accumulating evangelist who gambles, womanizes, consults astrologers and is mixed up in every shady political deal in Southern California. The eleven-year-old girl who has a calmness of mind in a crisis that would be the envy of every James Bond wannabe on the planet is totally unbelievable as is her allegedly crazy brother who seems to have no plan beyond revenge against their filthy rich father. The only characters who seem to have any motivation are Joe and his father Will, who is stone cold dead before the end of page twenty-two.
Joe's motivations, in fact all his character traits, are totally unbelievable. He acts like an automaton one minute and like a person with impulse control issues the next. He defers to anyone and everyone, especially his adoptive father, Will, who treats him like a servant whom he does not like very much. Joe has bizarre habits that he claims come from being "institutionalized" in a county children's home from the time he was less than a year old until he was about five. This just doesn't wash. Nobody, not even this neurotic becomes so institutionalized by age five that they only feel comfortable eating from compartmentalized trays. If human psychology were so, we would all want to eat while sitting in highchairs. One of the most unbelievable things in this book is left unstated. That is the idea that someone who is this obviously neurotic and emotionally crippled could possibly have passed the psychological tests for any police or sheriff department in the country.
Parker also seems more than willing to display his almost complete ignorance of police procedure and firearms, including referring to a "Smith" .357 when it is clear that he means a "Smith & Wesson" .357. Of course it really doesn't matter what he calls it since he says its "always loaded and always ready" and then he put it back into a floor safe with a dial combination lock! Yeah, really handy there, Joe! That's what a push-button combination wall safe is for. The police procedure followed (or I should say, not followed) in this book is, to anyone in the know, laughable.
Beyond the unbelievable and one-dimensional characters and the sloppy and unconvincing police procedures is the general tone and quality of the writing. Short, choppy sentences and sentence fragments can and do add to the pace and tension of a mystery or suspense novel, but this entire book is full of them, even when they not only don't contribute to pace and tension, but actually detract from them. Parker's background as a writer with several small-market media outlets is painfully apparent in his style. He needs to elevate the sophistication of his writing beyond the fifth-grade level of modern American journalism if he expects to engage mature mystery novel readers. Yet this is still an improvement over "Laguna Heat" in which Parker seemed to be trying to prove to us that he actually owned a dictionary and thesaurus.
The lack of a convincing plot is the most glaring defect in this work. Despite several attempts to introduce plot twists and turns, they are all so transparent, simplistic, trite and derivative that they are hardly worthy of a bad made for TV Movie-Of-The-Week. Anyone who is genuinely surprised by any element of this plot should take Remedial Mystery Reading 101 and go back to reading "Nancy Drew" until they grow some sophistication.
As a former investigator, budding mystery writer and long-time mystery reader, I have, so far, been very disappointed in all that I have read from T. Jefferson Parker. He has been highly touted by members of the local mystery book group and I was expecting better. I was also expecting better from the MWA in their choice of Edgar winners.
All in all it appears that Parker really wasn't interested in writing a police procedural despite having a sheriff's deputy as his protagonist. Like his first book, "Laguna Heat", the police procedure takes a back seat to his attempt at writing hard-boiled noir. This attempt might have come off better if Joe had been a PI rather than a cop. One might have been more willing to accept Joe's neuroses, personality disorders, odd behavior and choice of personal weapons (which even Chandler's and Spillane's cheapest gunsels would have eschewed). Noir and 21st Century Southern California is a difficult enough concoction to brew without trying to add a cop protagonist to the cauldron. It just doesn't work.

Rating:
Summary: Silent Joe should have kept his mouth shut
Review: Although a vast improvement over "Laguna Heat", Parker's first novel, "Silent Joe" really should have not opened his mouth at all. This reviewer is amazed that this book won an Edgar. There must have been very slim pickings that year.
The characters, especially the protagonist, Joe Trona, are unconvincing. Most of them hardly rise above the level of trite stereotypes. The crooked, low-class bureaucrat with the working-class name who is almost indistinguishable from the same character cast as a union boss/thug. The venal, sinful, wealth-accumulating evangelist who gambles, womanizes, consults astrologers and is mixed up in every shady political deal in Southern California. The eleven-year-old girl who has a calmness of mind in a crisis that would be the envy of every James Bond wannabe on the planet is totally unbelievable as is her allegedly crazy brother who seems to have no plan beyond revenge against their filthy rich father. The only characters who seem to have any motivation are Joe and his father Will, who is stone cold dead before the end of page twenty-two.
Joe's motivations, in fact all his character traits, are totally unbelievable. He acts like an automaton one minute and like a person with impulse control issues the next. He defers to anyone and everyone, especially his adoptive father, Will, who treats him like a servant whom he does not like very much. Joe has bizarre habits that he claims come from being "institutionalized" in a county children's home from the time he was less than a year old until he was about five. This just doesn't wash. Nobody, not even this neurotic becomes so institutionalized by age five that they only feel comfortable eating from compartmentalized trays. If human psychology were so, we would all want to eat while sitting in highchairs. One of the most unbelievable things in this book is left unstated. That is the idea that someone who is this obviously neurotic and emotionally crippled could possibly have passed the psychological tests for any police or sheriff department in the country.
Parker also seems more than willing to display his almost complete ignorance of police procedure and firearms, including referring to a "Smith" .357 when it is clear that he means a "Smith & Wesson" .357. Of course it really doesn't matter what he calls it since he says its "always loaded and always ready" and then he put it back into a floor safe with a dial combination lock! Yeah, really handy there, Joe! That's what a push-button combination wall safe is for. The police procedure followed (or I should say, not followed) in this book is, to anyone in the know, laughable.
Beyond the unbelievable and one-dimensional characters and the sloppy and unconvincing police procedures is the general tone and quality of the writing. Short, choppy sentences and sentence fragments can and do add to the pace and tension of a mystery or suspense novel, but this entire book is full of them, even when they not only don't contribute to pace and tension, but actually detract from them. Parker's background as a writer with several small-market media outlets is painfully apparent in his style. He needs to elevate the sophistication of his writing beyond the fifth-grade level of modern American journalism if he expects to engage mature mystery novel readers. Yet this is still an improvement over "Laguna Heat" in which Parker seemed to be trying to prove to us that he actually owned a dictionary and thesaurus.
The lack of a convincing plot is the most glaring defect in this work. Despite several attempts to introduce plot twists and turns, they are all so transparent, simplistic, trite and derivative that they are hardly worthy of a bad made for TV Movie-Of-The-Week. Anyone who is genuinely surprised by any element of this plot should take Remedial Mystery Reading 101 and go back to reading "Nancy Drew" until they grow some sophistication.
As a former investigator, budding mystery writer and long-time mystery reader, I have, so far, been very disappointed in all that I have read from T. Jefferson Parker. He has been highly touted by members of the local mystery book group and I was expecting better. I was also expecting better from the MWA in their choice of Edgar winners.
All in all it appears that Parker really wasn't interested in writing a police procedural despite having a sheriff's deputy as his protagonist. Like his first book, "Laguna Heat", the police procedure takes a back seat to his attempt at writing hard-boiled noir. This attempt might have come off better if Joe had been a PI rather than a cop. One might have been more willing to accept Joe's neuroses, personality disorders, odd behavior and choice of personal weapons (which even Chandler's and Spillane's cheapest gunsels would have eschewed). Noir and 21st Century Southern California is a difficult enough concoction to brew without trying to add a cop protagonist to the cauldron. It just doesn't work.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't live up to reviews
Review: I was very disappointed with this book and shocked that it was an Edgar Award winner. From the reviews I expected a first rate mystery but I could never really get on board with "Joe." I found the narrator's (joe) voice stilted and awkward, his train of thought difficult to follow. The scenes were choppy and disconnected. It wasn't until page 133 that I was even marginally interested in the plot. The plot line was unique and compelling but Joe was not. I never connected with the characters (translated: I didn't care.) I was constantly annoyed by the cadence and lyric and didn't really enjoy one moment of the book. ... I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: SILENCE CAN BE GOLDEN
Review: In Joe Trona, the hero of this well-conceived novel, T. Jefferson Parker has created a wonderful, likeable, semi-tragic hero who propels the reader into the dark secrets of many political bigwigs, including his own adoptive father.
Will Trona is Joe's dad, who adopted Joe at age five; poor Joe was horribly disfigured by his real father when he was a baby. The accident has left Joe with many physical and emotional scars; how he gets through these scars is the basis of this book. There's lot of complex plotting going on; intermingled is Joe's relationship with a radio reporter, June. Their coming to know each other is touching and believable. What makes this book so compelling is Joe himself. He's such a unique character and so "moral", you can't help but dive into the story with him.
A brilliantly appealing novel.

Rating:
Summary: easily one of the best written works of the year
Review: Joe Trona suffered a terrible injury as a child. His father threw acid on his face leaving him horribly scarred. It is a scar that has affected his life since then. After being adopted by Will and Mary Ann Trona, his life improved considerably. As the book opens, Will is a prominent politician in Orange County and Joe is his right hand man. Unfortunately, as Will goes on an assignment, he is killed in an ambush as Joe helplessly watches. Joe, of course, will stop at nothing to find Will's killers. He must delve into Will's past to get the answers.
What is especially impressive about this particular work is the superb writing. In fact, this is easily one of the best written works of the year. Joe Trona is an unforgettable character. He is brought vibrantly alive though both actions and dialogue. The plot is reasonably compelling, yet, at times, frustratingly complex. The slightly excessive length served to slow down the pacing of the story. This is not my favorite of the Best Novel Edgar nominees, however, the superb writing cannot be denied nor should the Edgar.

Rating:
Summary: EXPLOSIVE
Review: Meet Joe Trona, a scarred man.

As a child, Joe had acid thrown on his face by his biological father. Spending much of his youth in an orphanage, Joe, is rescued by politician Will Trona. Tormented by the nightmares of his childhood, Joe, welcomes the love, and acceptance given to him by his new family.

At twenty-four, Joe, now a cop, is his adoptive father's biggest fan. As the ever enthusiastic supporter of Will, he helps his father with his political career, but on an evening of "night business", things go terribly wrong leaving Will dead.

On what started as a mission to rescue a kidnapped girl, turns into a storm of violence, lies, and deception...with Joe wondering if he knew his adoptive father at all.

While trying to find his father's killer, and locate the missing girl, Joe, will uncover all the secrets that Will kept hidden, and he will be forced to face the painful memories of his childhood.

"Silent Joe" is another explosive novel from T.Jefferson Parker. While a suspenseful, page-turning thriller, it is much more, for at the heart of the novel lies the examination of love, and the power of man's spirit to overcome tragedy. With it's strong characters, powerful plot, and strong narrative "Silent Joe" races at break-neck speed to a statisfying conclusion.

T. Jefferson Parker has been consistent with churning out fresh thrillers, and "Silent Joe" is no exception. Although a depature from the style of his previous thrillers, Mr. Parker keeps the pages turning by throwing in twists at every turn.

A MUST read!

Nick Gonnella

Rating:
Summary: PARKER WRITES ANOTHER FASCINATING WINNER!
Review: T. Jefferson Parker can write! That's all there is to it. All of his novels are wonderful complex stories of mystery and suspense. I believe that "Silent Joe" was his best novel! Almost all of Mr. Parker's novels take place in Southern California, which is also enjoyable. The plot: Joe Trona is politician Will Trona's personal assistant and son. Will and Joe are on the way to pick up Savannah Blazak, who was kidnapped by her brother, Alex, and held for ransom until Savannah and Alex's parents pay Alex. They called in Will Trona to drop off the money. While getting out of his car, Will is confronted by a group of about four people who shoot Will dead. Savannah hears the shot and runs away, while Alex disappears. Joe Trona is determined to figure out who killed his father and get Savannah back. Who is the criminal? Is it crime boss and head of a major gang John Gaylen? Is it Bo Warren the Blazak's personal guard? Could it be Mr. Rupaski another politican who holds a grudge against Will? Joe is determined to find out, even if it means killing!

Rating:
Summary: A New Hero from T. Jefferson Parker
Review: T. Jefferson Parker has given us another hero to root for and one whom I hope he will bring back from time to time so that we can find out he is doing.

Joe Trona is a quite remarkable young man. Scarred for life by a psychotic father while still a baby in his crib, Joe is later adopted by Will Trona and his wife. Growing up in their loving home, along with the natural children of the Tronas, Joe finds all the emotional, physical and financial support he would never have known had he remained with his natural parents.

After graduating from college, Joe joins the Orange County, CA Sheriff's Department just like his adopted father had. As a young man growing up, Joe developed exceptional skills with firearms and unarmed combat through the martial arts. Because of these skills and the fact that he possessed the extra authority imbued by his Sheriff Department's badge, he has served as the "back-up" to his father, Will. After retiring from the Sheriff's Department, the elder Trona turned to politics and his wife's financial status of independent wealth permitted him to run for county-wide office.

During his political career, the elder Trona made many enemies through his battles against over-development. If ever there was a man in government who could be found to stand in the way of further development of the Orange County countryside, it was Will Trona. In his battles against the wealthy and powerful, Trona takes his son along and provides him with first hand experience and a bird's eye view of his personal method of doing business. But relatively early in this fast-paced novel, Will Trona is gunned down in front of his son and the 24 year old deputy sheriff decides to revenge his beloved father.

What I always find exceptional about Mr. Parker's novels is the consistent ability he shows in description of time, place, atmosphere and the personalities of the people he creates as characters for his novels. SILENT JOE is no exception and held me hard and fast from first page to last.

While showing a potential for violence, Joe Trona also has a side that is softer and needs nurturing. While his parents have shown that to him while he became a part of their family, his face, so badly scarred by acid leaves him a perennial social outcast. To cover the side most scarred, he wears a brimmed hat. But the technique also calls attention to himself, especially in southern California, where the sun is ever present. In addition, his case, which received widespread press coverage while he was a child and during his father's trial is well remembered by many who know his family through his adopted father's political career.

Parker keeps the interest level high as he introduces a possible kidnapping into the equation, one where Joe is asked to serve as a go-between for a wealthy developer, whose youngest daughter has turned up as a "guest" of her older brother.

Throughout the detective work, the revenge seeking and the general plot development, Parker introduces people who turn out to be less than they appear at first meeting. Almost all of them have one or more fatal flaws that result in the reader siding with Joe Trona. This ability, to create less than sympathetic main characters, while providing even more vile key role players is what I like about Parker's novel. And again, his well-developed ability to describe, in some cases, with a minimal use of words, the atmosphere being discussed is what keeps me coming back for more of his novels.

I really came to admire Joe Trona for his singleminded devotion to avenging the death of his father. Parker paints a full-fledged hero for us and despite the fact that Joe Trona is not without his own faults, he grows into his role as a man, a police officer and as a fully realized human being.

Jeff Parker has created an admirable and likeable hero in SILENT JOE. I enjoyed this book immensely and I only hope that Mr. Parker has the good sense to bring Joe Trona back for more adventures in Orange County.

Rating:
Summary: THIS IS MR. PARKER'S BEST NOVEL TO DATE!!!
Review: T. Jefferson Parker just keeps getting better and better with each novel. In his newest book, SILENT JOE, the reader is introduced to Joe Trona (a.k.a. Acid Baby), a deputy for the Orange County Sheriff Department, a bodyguard for his adoptive father, Will, and a man who was horribly disfigured by his real father as an infant. Needless to say, Joe has had to overcome adversity. He smart, tough, a trained martial artist, and a crack shot with a .45 automatic. He also deeply loves his adoptive father and would put his life on the line in a heartbeat to save him, if it ever came down to that. And it does! Will Trona, a powerful commissioner for Orange County, has made a lot of friends over the years, but he's also made a large number of enemies. One dark, foggy night, while acting as a go-between to help rescue a kidnapped girl from a wealthy and influential family, Will is set up to be killed. Joe, who's chauffeuring for his father that night, watches it happen, but is unable to do anything to save the man who raise him and loved him as few parents could. He does manage, however, to take out two of the killers before the head honcho of the group murders the rest of his men to protect his own identity and then swiftly disappears into the night. From that moment on, Joe's only goal is to find the answers as to why Will was set up and to put down the men behind the assassination. Over the next few weeks, as Joe starts checking into his adoptive father's past, he discovers things that surprise and shock him...things that would've been better left alone. He also begins to get an inkling of who might've wanted to murder Will and how big the conspiracy actually is. At first the people behind Will's death try to buy Joe off in an attempt to make him back away from his investigation, then he's warned as to what might happen if he doesn't stop. Joe Trona knows no fear, until the woman he has quickly grown to love is threatened. The only way out of the situation is to confront the danger head on. This is a man who always carries three handguns and can kill with his bare hands in a dozen different ways. It's going to take a lot of firepower and a high body count to stop him from settling his vendetta against those that brought tragedy to his family and threaten the people he loves. SILENT JOE is definitely Mr. Parker's best novel to date, and that's saying a lot when you consider that he wrote RED LIGHT, WHERE SERPENTS LIE and THE BLUE HOUR. He's created a powerful character in Joe Trona, a man with his own inner demons to fight, a man that the reader immediately starts rooting for from page one. As Joe seeks to avenge his father, he soon realizes that the person he loved was simply a man with his own strengths and weaknesses, and that nobody is perfect. Joe still has to find a way to accept the frailties of Will Trona, while acknowledging the good that he was able to do for his community before dying. Deep within Joe, however, is a desperate urgency to finally understand who his real parents were and why his actual father threw acid onto his face and his mother later abandoned him. These are painful questions that have been kept buried for too long and now need to be brought to the surface for a resolution of some kind. The answers may bring understanding, but they won't ease the turmoil that has made up his life. SILENT JOE is certainly writing as its best. Mr. Parker knows how to deliver the goods with a compelling plot and strong, believable characters that keep the reader glued to each riveting page. I hope that this isn't the last we've seen of Joe Trona. I'd love to see him return in a another novel, maybe even joining forces with Merci Rayborn from RED LIGHT and THE BLUE HOUR. This is a character that's too good to limit to just one novel. He deserves at least two or three more, so bring Joe back Mr. Parker!

Rating:
Summary: A subtle, painful glide into the dark night of life, soul
Review: The only novel worthy of the Edgar in the last decade, this marvelous novel explores the human psyche and invites the reader to enter the world of this novel and its lead character in order at least partially to understand the complexity and depth of the human spirit. Joe glides through his world like clouds across a clear star-lit night. His scarring outside gives him some insight that most of us utterly lack, but he is no saint and the scarring, at least in part, penetrates the inner man, sometimes making him a better human being, other times creating anger and a kind of bitterness. His real hurt comes not from his physical grotesqueness, but from his father's death and the deceitful actions that infect good men and the world they inhabit. The plot is propulsive; his mother and girlfriend add reality and human sympathy to the story ( yes, human sympathy is still extant in this cynical, mean-spirited world) I think Parker took a real risk with his acid-scarred main character. Many things could have gone wrong. But the novel is powerful, spiritual and "real." A magnificent tale. In a mystery world so full of "easy" fiction with cheap thrills, thin characters, shallow plots, Silent Joe demonstrates that a suspense novel can achieve the status of literature. Highly recommended. An essential "read" for the serious suspense reader.