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Dan Ames

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Dead Wood (A Hardboiled Private Investigator Mystery Series): John Rockne Mysteries 1 Kindle Edition

by Dan Ames (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 4,293 ratings

Book 1 of 6: John Rockne Mysteries

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An Ex-Cop Who Lost Everything. A Killer Who Will Stop At Nothing.

In the exclusive enclave of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, a woman who builds custom guitars is murdered. A disgraced ex-cop turned private investigator is hired by the dead woman's father and immediately becomes the target of a violent ex-convict.

An enigmatic music star performs damage control on her links to the dead woman. And a professional killer who idolizes Keith Richards is brought into town by a mysterious employer.

Dead Wood is what great mysteries are all about: love, hate, faith and vengeance, all wrapped up in an explosive story that simply refuses to let up.

"Dead Wood is a fast-paced, unpredictable mystery with an engaging narrator and a rich cast of original supporting characters." -Thomas Perry, Edgar-winning author of The Butcher's Boy.

"From its opening lines, Dan Ames and his private eye novel DEAD WOOD recall early James Ellroy: a fresh attitude and voice and the heady rush of boundless yearning and ambition. Ames delivers a vivid evocation of time and place in a way that few authors achieve, nailing the essence of his chosen corner of high-tone Michigan. This is the first new private eye novel in a long time that just swept me along for the ride. " - Edgar-nominated author Craig McDonald

"Dan Ames's writing reminds me of the great thriller writers -- lean, mean, no nonsense prose that gets straight to the point and keeps you turning those pages." --author Robert Gregory Browne

"As gritty as the Detroit streets where it's set, DEAD WOOD grabs you early on and doesn't let go. As fine a a debut as you'll come across this year, maybe any year." --author Tom Schreck

From the Publisher

A USA Today Bestselling Author

He Lost Everything To A Killer Who Will Stop At Nothing.

The John Rockne Mystery Series. Over a million copies sold.

"Fast-paced, engaging, original'. -New York Times bestselling author Thomas Perry.

"Ames is a sensation among Kindle readers who love fast-paced thrillers." -MysteryTribune


John Rockne #2 Some secrets refuse to stay buried.	John Rockne #3 A missing woman. A killer who's just getting started.	John Rockne #4 Long-distance murder.	John Rockne #5 A thriller that keeps you guessing until the last, shocking twist.

Love Jack Reacher and Lee Child?

Introducing the Jack Reacher Cases.

A USA Today bestselling series.

Former FBI agent Lauren Pauling investigates the disappearance of a man with mysterious ties to Jack Reacher.

"Engrossing!" -USA Today bestselling author Rick Murcer

"Furiously paced. Great action." -New York Times bestselling author Ben Lieberman

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ames is a sensation among readers who love fast-paced thrillers." -MysteryTribune

From the Author

Dan Ames is a USA TODAY bestselling author. He is a GoodReads finalist and the recipient of the Independent Book Award for Crime Fiction. Sign up for his free newsletter to hear about new stories, free books and giveaways: authordanames.com

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005KKUVX6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Slogan Books, New York NY (January 27, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 27, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 6215 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #646,369 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,106 in Pulp Thrillers
- #2,185 in Heist Thrillers
- #2,563 in Hard-Boiled Mysteries (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 4,293 ratings

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Dan Ames

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Author of the USA TODAY bestselling series: The JACK REACHER Cases.

Dan Ames is an international bestselling novelist and winner of the Independent Book Award for Crime Fiction.

His popular series THE JACK REACHER Cases earned a spot on the USA TODAY bestseller lists and now features seven novels in the series.

You can learn more at AuthorDanAmes.com

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4.1 out of 5

4,293 global ratings

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Tony Parsons

PI thriller

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

Grosse Pointe, MI. New yrs. eve. Benjamin “Ben” Collins nude body was bobbing up/down in the freezing river.
Nate Becker (F/T Grosse Pointe Times reporter) had quite the article about it.
Jesse Barre (daughter, guitar maker) had been murdered.
Shannon Sparrow’s (singer/songwriter, musician/guitarist) guitar was missing.
Rufus Coltraine had been killed.
Grosse Pointe (Cabbage Patch), MI. John Rockne (PI, narrator) had found former inmate Laurence Grasso (Shannon’s ex-husband, Jackson State Prison, attempted murder).

John went to visit with Shannon.
Would John find any leads in Memphis, TN?

Warning: This book contains extremely graphic adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive or have potential adverse psychological effects on the reader.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written PI thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a large set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great PI thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series. To be continued. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free author; Slogan Books; BookSweeps; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

Helpful

Trulia Smith

Suspenseful, Solid Read …

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2015

Verified Purchase

DEAD WOOD by Dan Ames is the first book in The John Rockne Mysteries. It’s fast-paced thriller with unique characters and an intriguing storyline. John Rockne is the protagonist and he’s a bit of a knuckle-head. The “head” thing will come into play a little further down in this review, so keep it in mind.

The story opens up with a bang. You know how in some movies, you’re screaming at the idiot not to go into the basement to investigate that noise? Well, you’ll find yourself doing this to your kindle, but the glassy screen will ignore your warning at which time you’ll begin pounding the pillow beside you, beating it the way you would like to beat Rockne, all to keep him from doing something really, really stupid. But does anyone listen to a mere reader? No. And it’s because we’re ignored, that he goes from being a cop to a private detective.

The case he takes on is a good one. Jesse Barre is murdered while in her workshop building a guitar. She uses rare salvaged wood that her boyfriend just happens to dredge up from the bottom of the Lake Michigan. Her death is a tragedy to be sure, but her passing is not destined to be ignored. Not when her father is Clarence Barre, ”the” Clarence Barre … the famous country western singer. The family ties ensure that Poppa Bear will not rest until he finds out who killed his daughter, and so, he hires Mr. Rockne to find out who dunnit and why.

The connection to the music industry makes for interesting reading and lets the story flow into some pretty unexpected directions. What also helps is Rockne’s family dynamics. You see, like the old country song, “Little sis don’t miss when she aims her gun,” and his sister shouldn’t be taken too lightly, either. Why? Well, because his sister is Grosse Pointe's Chief of Police, that’s why. But it’s not easy to have a sister who’s an overachiever, especially when you like doing things the hard way, and it’s right here I’d like to return to that “head” thing.

My problem with the book is that Rockne doesn’t seem to use his head for what it’s intended for which is thinking. Instead he uses it to block punches (not soccer balls), take beatings, have it battered into concrete, and catch bullets and knives. I have a problem with this style of writing because at some point, it pulls you out of the story. No one, except those with superhuman powers, can recover that quickly from all the physical damage … NO ONE. Then there’s the problem that when Rockne springs out of bed the next day, no one even questions that he’s been bashed repeatedly in the face. Wouldn’t someone notice? Wouldn’t his physicality be impaired? Apparently not. Of course, the other problem is the way Ames constructed this character. There’s a hapless, Charlie Chaplinesque quality to him. It imbues the scenes where Rockne is taking what should be a lethal dose of punishment so much so that we find ourselves taking a certain perverse pleasure in this slightly obtuse detective getting his brains bashed in. Should we be enjoying it that thoroughly? Probably not. But it’s all due to Ames’ skill as a writer and so it became tantamount to a guilty pleasure for a large part of this novel.

The above is my only real criticism. Other than that, I found the story, characters, plotline all engaging. It’s a superlative read and one I can and do recommend. And I will be reading Mr. Ames again and following this series. The approach was refreshing and think DEAD WOOD is altogether a great read. Oh, and before I forget, that opening chapter … in between the concussions, Mr. Rockne does realize the huge mistake he made and is obliged to fix it. It makes for a compelling underlying storyline that I suspect will continue the length of this series.

Because of all of the above, I’m giving DEAD WOOD by Dan Ames 4.2 which round down to 4.

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Top reviews from other countries

Omer Cust

Unbelievable plot and characters.

Reviewed in France on July 30, 2021

Verified Purchase

It started off with an unbelievable foul up and stayed unbelievable throughout. I waited in vain for something realistic to happen. It didn’t. Unfortunately we don’t get an explanation of the first murder so I will have to get the sequel. I hope it is better anchored in the real world.

Philip Lindsay

Hard to follow

Reviewed in Australia on February 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

This story was disjointed, a mishmash of thoughts and ideas, hard to keep track of, and really difficult to follow.
...but it was interesting and worth reading.

Amazon CustomerDianne

Great storyline

Reviewed in Canada on March 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

Great storyline...had a hard time putting it done. It was well written and held my interest

Linda Todd

great read you will love it happy reading.♥

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2015

Verified Purchase

A fabulous thrilling story I truly loved reading and will read more as I get the books. This wonderful story was what the doc ordered excitement,laughs & a wee bit of sarcasm thrown in as well truly fabulous book. My heart felt thanks go to the author Dan Ames for the pleasure of reading this wonderful book and hope to read more. This book I would be so delighted to recommend to my friends so to all happy reading from wee me. ♥☺

3 people found this helpful

sammidog

Good, but he sure is lucky.

Reviewed in Canada on June 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

The writing is good, plots are a bit entangled and over-complicated, and the protagonist sure is lucky. The goof doesn't carry a gun, goes up against people who do, and he always seems to get away or ends up killing them. Slightly unbelievable. However we forgive the author because he is a good writer.

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Dead Wood (A Hardboiled Private Investigator Mystery Series): John Rockne Mysteries 1 Kindle Edition

An Ex-Cop Who Lost Everything. A Killer Who Will Stop At Nothing.

From the Publisher

A USA Today Bestselling Author

"Ames is a sensation among Kindle readers who love fast-paced thrillers." -MysteryTribune

John Rockne #2

John Rockne #3

John Rockne #4

John Rockne #5

Love Jack Reacher and Lee Child?

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