Hello my fellow book addicts! It’s been a while. I’m sorry for the huge break between reviews, but to make up for it, I’m going to drop a second review tonight introducing you all to a handful of indie comic writers and their stories I’m sure you’ll love!
Now then, let’s get down to ranting! Today, we are going to dive into the Jay Porter crime-novel series, by author Joe Clifford. The series started with Jay working hard in cleaning junk out of areas that need it; such as houses of people who have died, abandoned places, etc. The story then cuts to Jay going to bail his older brother, Chris, who is a drug addict, out of jail on some petty charges for the millionth time. Since their parents died when they were younger, Jay and Chris have only had each other. While the five-book series is told from Jay’s viewpoint, both of the brothers mirror Joe Clifford’s real life struggles with loss, drug addiction, and poverty. These are all characters we can relate to, especially in times as tough as these in real life. Through the series we meet a college dropout who could not handle the real world on their own. We see people from abusive relationships and how they coped, another character who after working a crummy office job for a while starts his own online venture, and even those just working endless hours every week to make ends meet. Like the story, these characters are gritty and relentless in spirit, and although there are times when things seem hopeless, they keep pushing.
Back to Jay and his story. Chris vanishes later that same night, which I would say is the inciting incident that ignites the events for the whole series. The police are looking for Chris in relation to his friend’s death, and property that was taken from an iconic family in the state who Jay and Chris have edgy ties to. While trying to maintain a relationship with his young son, and rebuild the one with his ex, Jenny, Jay and his friends try to find Chris and the reason for why he disappeared. Like any good crime story, they start to uncover gang activity, money being used in corruption, cover-ups, and crimes more heinous than should be spoiled in this blog. Seriously, Joe Clifford’s first novel in the series, Lamentation, comes out with a mind-blowing twist that makes an already great story even more intriguing. Clifford is someone who knows how to tell a story and keep you wrapped in until the very end.
Through all five books, Jay and his friends, as well as new allies who come into play with their own backgrounds in each new book, try to expose the corruption in a broken justice and health system. Having grown up with Chris’ drug addiction, Jay has seen first-hand the system at work, and has much empathy for other victims in each story. They are what drive him to dive into each book’s separate mystery, which also connect into an overall series arc. This same story format has been done on other crime dramas such as Breaking Bad and Ozark, and like those two shows, Jay is a protagonist who although you at times find it hard to root for due to his anger management issues, he nonetheless is whom you see is needed in this dark, gritty, (and horrifyingly realistic) world that Joe Clifford has created. He can be an ass at times, but nonetheless is always there to put his own demons aside to help others.
There are times where you’ll worry if Jay’s old school mate who is now a town officer is getting too close to things, and other times when you think Jay himself cannot fall any lower, and sure enough, he proves the readers wrong digging his hole of despair deeper. The story is very symbolic in what addiction, of any kind, can do to someone’s life. When you read this series (you better be on Amazon buying it already!) you will also learn that drugs are not the only thing one can become addicted to that can destroy someone’s life. That sometimes being addicted to our own emotional demons could be just as damaging.
This series is filled with characters you will root and cry for, and worry if they’ll make it to the next chapter. They’ll remind you of people in your own life you love and hate, which keeps you pulled-into the plot more.
Check out here to purchase the series: https://www.amazon.com/Lamentation-Jay-Porter-Joe-Clifford/dp/1608091856
Until later folks! Keep on reading!
-B.N. Muraca
The Book Rant 