Saturday, January 22, 2011

Brogan's Crossing by Jack Ramsay


I read Jack Ramsay’s crime novel, Brogan’s Crossing, from sheets of printed typing paper. Unbound, occasionally crooked, with the ink fading towards the end of the manuscript; its appearance was unlike all other books I’ve read, save my own. I read the complete novel—twice—but I can’t say I’ve read it cover to cover. Perhaps, by the time this article is posted to my blog, Brogan’s Crossing will be bound; with a glossy cover, Jack’s name emblazoned across the front, and with its very own IBSN number. That is my hope. For if ever a novel deserved publishing, Brogan’s Crossing is it.

Sam Brogan is a cop. A father. A widower. Sam Brogan is an honorable man who witnesses the violent death of someone very close to him, at a time when he is finally getting his life back on track. He knows who is responsible for the tragedy. In his heart, he knows. Now, all he has to do is prove it, while at the same time, protecting his little girl.

But bringing down the city’s biggest crime family is no easy task, and Brogan runs into roadblock after roadblock. He’s forbidden to work the case. He’s too involved, too close. And yet, those whom he trusts to investigate don’t seem to be doing their jobs. The leads aren’t being followed up on—at least, not to Sam’s satisfaction. And soon, he begins to wonder if something insidious has taken hold of the very people he counted on to help him.

Gaby was his wife’s best friend, and despite himself, Sam finds himself succumbing to her allure. But Detective Dunbar, a woman he desperately wants to trust, is hiding something. And Sam is afraid he knows what it is.

With no recourse but to hunt down the killers himself, Brogan goes rogue. He believed in the system, but the system let him down. And a desperate man with a child to protect can easily find himself balancing precariously between doing what is lawful, and doing what is just.


Brogan’s Crossing is a novel which presents the reader with the challenge of deciding if the protagonist is a hero, or a villain. The complex issue of social justice is dragged--kicking and screaming--into the light by author Jack Ramsay. In a world where justice has increasingly become nothing more than an ideal instead of a practice, Jack forces us to decide right and wrong for ourselves. He causes us to ask ourselves: How far would we go to safeguard those we love? And who, exactly, has the right to mete out justice in a world where it no longer seems to exist?

Keep watch for Brogan’s Crossing. This is a novel well worth waiting for. And in the meantime, don’t make any presumptions about your own moral code. Jack Ramsay will have you questioning everything you ever believed in. Everything you were always sure was right.

24 comments:

  1. P.S. This is a really, really good book!!!!

    :o)

    xoxoxo
    Kaz

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  2. Looking forward to reading it!

    DC

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  3. Have read a good deal of Brogan's Crossing, even when it had another title. I will say it let me in on the workings of a most interesting being and writer, this Jack Ramsay. I'll add that you really do invest a good bit in the protagonist and what his mental, emotional and moral dilemma is, while you get totally woo'ed by the impelling action. Comes from sources that outbeat mere imagination. Excellent.

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  4. Wow, what a review :) Thanks, Kazza - I'm glad it got to you like that.

    DC - I'll send you a copy... if it ever makes it to print.

    And Mignon, good friend that you are, I thank you for your kindness.

    --JackR

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  5. And did I mention... it's a really, REALLY good book!??

    Me

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  6. I'd love to see it, Jack, so hurry up and get it published! Sounds like my kind of book!

    DC

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  7. I read this when it had a Tartan Noir setting and LOVED it - Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Hurry up and get it picked.. for publishing so I can give it to all my friends!!!

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  8. I have been looking & waiting for Brogan's Crossing for months & months - hopefully it will be released here in Oz soonest !
    Looking forward to what promises to be a great read.

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  9. M.M., I have to confess, when I first read an excerpt from Jack's novel under its former title, I had to get out my dictionary and look up the word "Palliation". I think the poor man took a bit of ribbing over that title. I'm almost positive that I never teased him about it, though.

    :o)

    And hi, Gill! Yes, we have proof that Jack can write griping and believable novels in diverse settings. One of the most basic rules in writing is a simple one: 'Write what you know.' (Never minding, of course, the awkward grammar, there!) It's obvious that Jack knows his subject matter, and that he has traveled those roads described in both the Scottish and the Aussie version of BC.

    By the way, BC was long-listed for the Cal-Scribe Fiction Prize for 2011. Best of luck, Mr. Ramsay. This novel is well-deserving of a win!

    Kaz

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  10. Hmmn - should that be 'gripping' ????

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  11. Hehehe... yeah, should be gripping.

    Although, the man can handle griping like a pro!!!

    Snort!

    Dang, where's my proof-reader when I need him?

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  12. Btw, Dozy... seeing you hear always makes me smile.

    I'm off to work. Have a sweet sleep, and don't forget to....

    You know!

    xoxo

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  13. Judas Priest!! I meant 'seeing you HERE'.

    Arrrghhhh.....

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  14. It's probably been a year and a half since I read Brogan's Crossing but I still remember my first impression like it was yesterday. This wasn't written by someone Googling a topic and writing a novel. This was written by someone who lived it -- who walked the walk. Who wrote about what he's seen -- not just heard about. You can tell from page one. Little things. Details and perspectives borne of experience. I came away knowing more than I started out knowing and I for one appreciate that there are folks out there who do that work. Not only is Mr. Ramsay one of them but he's captured it in writing for the rest of us.

    BC is a gripping, extremely suspenseful read. Why it's not in publication is beyond me. Color me first in line to get a copy the day it is (and I have no doubt it will be). If you get the chance to read Brogan's Crossing I highly recommend you don't pass it up. Believe me it'll be time well spent.

    Saint

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  15. Hey, Saint!

    I think you just gave Mr. Ramsay's novel a very fine review of your own.

    Thanks, sweetums.

    If publishers would only learn to listen to us! We'd make their jobs much easier!

    xoxo

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  16. Bring it on Jack. sounds like a must read!

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  17. Thanks, all :)

    Had my head down for a couple of days, what with Burns night (stodgy haggis on a 35 degree day... no wonder I drink!) and Aussie Day right next to one another again this year (I said no wonder I drink!)

    Saintee! Great to see your name up there, and thanks for the vote of confidence. I still think you should write a screenplay for Eggless - reckon it'd transpose extremely well.

    Gill, thanks for dropping in to say hi. I hope the weather's not too driech back in Scotland - and I hope ALL your friends want a copy of BC (if it ever makes it to print).

    Dozy - Kazza's right: I'm an excellent griper. Years of practice. Gripe, gripe, gripe... Heh, Kazza needs a poofreader right enough... Anyhoo, I hope you're all nice and dry in sunny NSW :)

    Ali g - thanks mate. Fingers crossed.

    All the best, folks.

    --JR

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  18. Och, Jack... yer not gonna make me recite "Ode to a Haggis" again, are ya???

    It was painful enough the first dozen times....

    Hey, Ali g... did I just see you down on another post, griping about how worried I was about Jack and Ali and Larry during the floods? I'll have you know that I worry about your scrawny @$$ all the time, too. This long distance lovin' is hard. (Ooh, I feel a country song coming on!)

    And Dozy told me it was something like 47C down there yesterday... what am I gonna do with you people? She's probably nothing but a puddle on the floor!

    Sheesh. Personally, I think you should thank your lucky stars that there is a woman this neurotic watching over y'all. Makes the rest of you look surprisingly sane.

    Pbbbbtttt!!!

    (Love you all, you know...)

    Kaz

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  19. Hey there gorgeous,
    I'm back for a moment & it's sweltering here again - two consecutive days of temps over 40 deg celsius, phew.....it's so good to know that you are up there watching over all of us way down here !
    Big hugs xx..
    PS: Please Jack, can you get BC published pdq ???

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  20. Hi Dozy,

    Sorry to hear about the heat. Not so hot here, but wicked humidity. Thank you, cyclone Yasimodo (you ugly big brute!)

    Honestly, I'd just be happy if someone - anyone - would read BC. I'd even write it out by hand!

    Meh... one day, maybe, it'll light someone's candle.

    Stay cool, friend, and watch out for bushfires.

    --JR

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  21. Hi Jack,

    I'm glad that you're not anywhere near Yasi - that is one scary massive beast bearing down on northern Qld !

    We had a bushfire nearby on Monday but it's out now - thank goodness as it's incredibly hot & windy which is not a good recipe.

    Who do we have to petition to get BC published ??

    Stay dry up there & stay safe !

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  22. I have an observation to make. On my 'whoopie pie' post, I just mentioned 'sharing vernacular' because Dozy said 'asses' instead of 'arses', and then I wandered down here to read Jack saying 'wicked humidity'.

    Bloody hell, I think you Aussies have 'caught' me. :o)

    I'm a very benign virus, you know. :o)

    Ooh! And other thing! Ali g said 'upside the head' the other day! Yep... I am contagious!

    Okay, next lesson. I'd like you to practice these:

    'Numb as a hake' or 'Number (pronounced 'num-ah') than a pounded thumb'.

    'You can't get there from here, dear.' (Y'cahn't get they-ah from he-ah, de-ah).

    Quiz on Friday.

    :o)

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  23. Have you heard this one : May all your chooks turn to emus & kick your dunny down.......

    PS: I only said 'asses' because I was being polite - didn't want to make an arse of myself

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  24. No, Doz, I have NOT heard that one. I like it!

    But I think I get some REALLY strange looks if I used that expression-- since we don't have emus over here, we call our chooks "chickens" or "hens", and our dunnys are called "privys" or "backhouses" or "outhouses"...

    I'm assuming I wouldn't want to get kicked by an emu, huh?

    Heh...oh, and thanks for being polite on GAG!

    Snort!

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