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The Barnes & Noble Review
Beginning in the mid-1980s, T. Jefferson Parker has been one America's most intelligent, consistently reliable crime writers. His eight previous novels, which include the Edgar-nominated Red Light, constituted a singular achievement that is enhanced even more by the addition of Silent Joe.
Silent Joe bears a clear -- and clearly acknowledged -- resemblance to Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn. Parker's hero, Joe Trona (a spiritual analogue of Lethem's Lionel Essrog), is horribly scarred in infancy when his drunken
father pours battery acid on his face. Joe then spends five years in an orphanage before being adopted by Will and Maryann Trona. When we first encounter him, he is 24 years old and possesses an unshakable loyalty to his adoptive parents. By day, Joe works as a sheriff's deputy. By night, he serves as his father's bodyguard, accompanying Will -- an Orange County supervisor -- on his nocturnal rounds.
Early on, an enigmatic night mission goes spectacularly wrong when unidentified gunmen murder Will Trona. Wracked by guilt, Joe initiates an investigation into his father's secret life and the surprising circumstances behind his death. His investigation encompasses a fraudulent kidnapping, several related deaths, numerous acts of blackmail, and the gradual revelation of a wide-ranging conspiracy involving a powerful cabal of Orange County business and political leaders. Along the way, Joe uncovers previously hidden aspects of his father's character, fumbles his way into the first romantic relationship of his life, and discovers the truth about his
own mysterious origins.
Silent Joe is a remarkable novel that features a compelling and constantly evolving protagonist. Beneath his damaged exterior and well-mannered, carefully constructed persona, Joe Trona conceals a first-rate intellect and a highly developed sensibility, qualities that become increasingly evident as events unfold. Through Joe, Parker examines complex issues of love and loyalty, faith and family, ethics and personal identity, all within the context of a gripping, suspenseful narrative. Silent Joe is contemporary crime fiction at its absolute best. I urge you to give it a try. (Bill Sheehan)
Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, has been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com).
Wall Street Journal
T. Jefferson Parker, whose affecting Silent Joe is . . . full of quirks and great surprises.
Los Angeles Times
A pro, that's what T. Jefferson Parker is. His plots are intricate, keenly crafted, clearly mapped . . .
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Parker (Red Light) lowers the volume from his usual roar and adds a subtle backbeat to this bittersweet thriller about a man's anguished search for his father's killer. Joe Trona is a dutiful son, but horrible facial scars have made him an outcast. He lived in an orphanage until he was adopted at five by Will Trona, a powerful politician in Southern California's Orange County. As a hulking teenager and later as a young man, Joe became Will's right-hand man running errands, extracting revenge on enemies, protecting his flank all the while living a lonely life because of his disfigurement. One night, Joe drops his guard for a moment, and Will is gunned down. Despite aggressive investigations by the FBI and sheriff's department, Joe seeks his own vengeance. He starts sifting through his father's life and gradually discovers that Will brokered secret deals, blackmailed enemies, had extramarital affairs and in his final days appeared to be involved in the kidnapping of an 11-year-old girl. Joe's investigation becomes a personal voyage, casting light on the dark corners of his own past and allowing him to start overcoming the crushing indignity that his injury has forced him to endure. Capped by a violent yet poignant finale, the plot is loaded with familiar Parker themes a faithless government, the heavy hand of big business and the corruption of the wealthy. Parker's tone, however, is more pensive this time. He crafts an intricately layered story reaching beyond his usual domain into more personal territory, at times evoking the work of Ross MacDonald. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Silent Joe is a guy's mystery. It is full of fast cars, guns, macho men, and supportive women, all beautiful, of course. Twenty-four-year-old deputy Joe Trona bears the scars, physical and emotional, of a disfiguring childhood injury. He witnesses the murder of his adoptive father, a prominent Orange County, CA, politician and is determined to find and bring to justice those responsible. Joe is an interesting and compelling hero; his personal struggles and his attempts to solve the murder keep the listener actively engaged. The complex plot has many threads, which ultimately come together in a satisfying, if not surprising, conclusion. It features the dark side of the southern California scene, with corrupt government officials and businessmen, rival Asian gangs, illegal immigrants, and even a televangelist all playing a part. James Daniels does an excellent job with the large number of characters and effectively captures the somewhat dark mood. This very entertaining production is highly recommended for all popular audio collections. Christine Valentine, Davenport Univ., Kalamazoo, MI Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
When he was nine months old, his father poured acid on his face, scarring Joe for life. For the next four years, Joe lived in an orphanage until Will and Mary Ann Trona adopted him. Twenty years later, Joe works as a jailer for the Orange County prisons system and as a driver-bodyguard for his beloved father Will, now a county superintendent. Joe drives Will to a dark area where the latter picks up a frightened twelve-year-old girl named Savannah. However, before they leave, gang members accost them, killing Will. Joe kills two of them while Savannah flees into the night. Joe quickly learns that the deadly Cobra Kings murdered Will. Joe finds out that Savannah was a kidnapping victim, but cannot see the link to Will. Feeling guilty over his failure to protect Will and a need to rescue Savannah, Joe begins to make inquiries. His investigation takes Joe way beyond the Cobra Kings to an uglier picture of his benefactor and a return to his own childhood nightmares. Silent Joe is a fabulously complex blending of psychological suspense with a private investigative tale that works because of the main character. The suspense-loaded story line centers on the heroic, but scarred (emotionally as much as his visage) Joe, who is learning more about himself, and his adoptive father and family even while deliberately stepping deeper into danger. T. Jefferson Parker always writes a page-turner, but this is the award-winning author's best novel and hopefully Joe will return for another engagement.
Kirkus Reviews
"The Acid Baby," the media dub him when his sociopathic father douses him with battery acid, ravaging half his face. But then little Joe gets lucky. He's adopted by Will and Mary Trona, who nurture, love, and salvage him. Though the emotional and physical scars are there to stay, Joe has become a young man of promise. Predictably shy about his face, Silent Joe is a bit more understated than most, but he's smart, competent, and eager to follow in the footsteps of Will, who was a cop for 20 years before widening his horizons to become a rough-and-tumble politico in California's plush Orange County, a man with powerful friends and dangerous enemies. Though he depends on the adopted son who's become a cop himself, Will has his own penchant for playing each hand close to the vest. And one ominous night, when heavy money is disbursed to enigmatic figures and Will seems less than his confident self, Joe is filled with premonitory unrest. Events prove him right when Will stumbles into an ambush and is gunned down. Joe takes out two of the shooters but knows that the real killers are elsewhere, protected by money and influence. He knows as well-and soon everyone does-that he won't rest until he smokes them out. For all his taciturnity, Joe makes an eloquent and persuasive action hero. His story could have been pared down without harm, but, still, this is another highly professional score from a savvy veteran (Red Light).
