Broken Ground

I LOVE this series so much! Book after book, I share Jay's frustration with his day to day life. His struggles with trying to do the right thing, and his obsession to find the truth at all costs leave you on the edge of your seat wanting to scream out loud on his behalf. The poor guy can't get a break, and no one believes in him. This is another excellent chapter in the saga, and of course, I'm already jonesing for the next book!

I've been a fan of Joe Clifford's "Jay Porter" series, and 'Broken Ground' is a fresh reminder of why. Jay starts out in AA, having given up beer, and he's working the steps, but as I kept on through the story, through Jay's allowing himself to be dragged into a "case" that would bring all of his chickens home to roost, I realized that Jay doesn't need AA for his addiction to beer; he's addicted to being Jay Porter. The Fourth Step of AA is to make a searching and fearless inventory of ourselves, and in a big way, 'Broken Ground' is Jay's fast paced and exciting Fourth Step.

Joe Clifford’s Broken Ground takes us further into his unconventional hero’s life. An Everyman we can readily relate to, Jay Porter is an estate-clearing handyman with PTSD stemming from his brother's suicide-by-cop. In this fourth book, Jay’s ex-wife (Jennie), her new husband, and Jay's son, Aidan, have moved into a MacMansion closer to him so he can spend more time with his son. Jay has given up alcohol and is working on quitting smoking, as he makes headway into being a better part-time dad. When a high school classmate asks him to locate her sister, Jay is unwillingly drawn into another mystery and again puts himself at risk to do the right thing. Clifford’s clues are subtle enouugh that you quickly realize that if it’s on the page, it’s important. And, as always in the Jay Porter series, the cold climate is a character in itself, wearing on body and soul. I made the mistake of reading this during the cold snap of early January 2018 and nearly froze to death on my couch. My sole complaint is that I turned the page and the book was over—a real cliffhanger—that left me feeling unsatisfied.

Fourth book in this series, and the best yet. Character developement is on point. Story is superb! Very good installment and hope he continues to bring the books.

#4 in Clifford's outstanding Jay Porter series set in new Hampshire and we see Jay finally starting to put his life back together. He's going to AA, he owns his own company.........but he just can't resist dabbling in another missing persons case, this one a young woman who has gone missing from a drug rehab facility, which makes no sense, since this is a woman everyone swears has never taken drugs. Well, of course, that leads to Jay knocking heads with several unsavory characters while the local sheriff, as well as Jay himself, question his sanity. And all the while, the aura of his nemesis, the Lombardi brothers, looms ominously over everything. Great book ! Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Jay Porter doesn’t want to be an investigator. If he did, he’d get a license. But clients keep finding him. In Broken Ground (Oceanview Publishing, 2018), the latest in Joe Clifford’s Porter series, the client and Jay have a history, of sorts. She crashes an AA meeting he’s attending, he an alcoholic and she bearing the tell-tale marks of more serious drug use.
Her sister is missing, and the police are not an avenue she’s willing to pursue. The retainer she hands over goes straight into child support, as his “Sanford and Son” estate cleaning business is in as big a slump as his personal life.
Things aren’t as they seem, right from the onset. Her sister either was or was not a user, dependent upon whomever he asks. She either was or was not accepted, then summarily discharged from a local treatment center. The answer becomes moot when people start dying, and the trail leads all the way back 5 years to a former case, a prominent family, big money and an epidemic of cancer. Jay finds himself embroiled in his own brother’s death a year before, his client’s case, a family with whom he’s crossed paths before and who has engaged local law enforcement to keep him at arm’s length, and a toxic piece of real estate.
The plot takes one through unsuspected twists, much closer to home than even Jay Porter would have wanted, had he been the writer instead of the protagonist. Don’t look for the clues that give the ending away. You’ll only find them after the fact.
Joe Clifford writes with authority and authenticity. His characters’ fatal flaws are not imagined by him – they’ve either been lived by him or observed first-hand by him. Broken Ground, along with the other books in the Jay Porter series are frighteningly real, almost to the point that the reader keeps checking to see whether they are fiction, historical fiction or non-fiction.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read Broken Ground by Joe Clifford. This is part of the Jay Porter series. This was my first read from this author. I did find that I was out of the loop by not reading any of this series prior books and that is because there is a lot of character background for the Porter character.
Very good descriptive locale with a good criminal case. Fans will like it but I suggest you read the others to get a better reader foundation.

I'm a big fan of Joe Clifford and the Jay Porter series. This one does not disappoint. The 4th book in the story arc, the breadcrumbs he laid in the first books are coming together (remember that hard drive, I thought you did.) As always, the brooding location is another character. Use the time between now and the drop date to catch up on the first 3 in the series. This is a standalone, but you will have a richer experience and you'll be ready for the last book in the series "Rag and Bone."

Check out my latest interview with Joe on my podcast The Blue Plate Special at: https://tinyurl.com/JoeCliffordJan2018

Compelling!

This is the fourth in Clifford’s Jay Porter series and, in each book, Jay seems to have even lower self-esteem and even more righteous rage!

Jay’s life hasn’t been easy and, based on his experience so far, he holds no hope for a better future; but he is basically a good guy trying to keep his head down and stay out of trouble. The trouble is that trouble follows him like a hungry and stray dog.

When we pick up Jay he has just qualified for his first AA token, having not touched beer for a whole 9 months. He is attending meetings and building up his house clearance business whilst coping with his PTSD following his brother Chris’s death. He is also getting over the death of his only friend, Charlie; life isn’t exactly rosy but he is heading in the right direction.

Then he meets Amy at a meeting who wants him to find her missing sister, Emily. Jay’s forays into private investigation have won him no points with the local sheriff, Turley, and soon he is again stepping on toes.

I actually have a soft spot for Jay, whose problems have not always been of his own making, and who basically wants to make his town a better place. However, his methods are questionable at best and before long his enemies get wind of his enquiries and the death count rises.

Clifford’s novels are always fast moving with well-defined plots, interesting characters, and a style of writing which fits the environment of Lamentation Mountain and Ashton town which are depressing places in themselves. You definitely get the feeling that, as long as Jay stays in this hick town, his fortunes cannot improve, and although he feels this himself he is unable to break free from the virtual velcro which binds him.

No disappointments here; Clifford delivers another satisfying volume on the trials and tribulations of Jay Porter, who is, in fact, his own worst enemy.

Pashtpaws

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review