Broken Machines

by Michael I. Leahey

James Joseph Donovan stares out his own window, watching as the rain soaks Manhattan and puts a damper on his thirty-ninth birthday. J.J. Donovan is a private consultant - an expert people turn to when they've run out of options. Before the day is out, Janet Fein, a social worker friend, will ask Donovan to help a little boy named Clifford Brice. Clifford's mother Ruby - a prostitute and a heroin addict - has been brutally murdered. The police have...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312261306
• ISBN13: 9780312261306
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Refreshing

After reading a slew of highly touted, but fairly mediocre books, recently, it was a delight to read Broken Machines. Michael Leahey has a fine talent for characterization, a nice sense of humor, and a good feel for pacing. This is a very good first novel, and I will definitely be waiting with a high level of anticipation for his next book.My only quibble is with the proofreading, which could have been better. There are too many typos in the book, and they always distract from the reading. Otherwise, I highly recommend Broken Machines.

"Move over Mike Hammer, Here comes J.J. Donovan"

Michael Leahey's first book is a dynamite introduction to a new mystery sleuth -- urbane, witty, gourmand, intelligent, gritty and good with his fists -- J.J. Donovan is the Mike Hammer for the New Millenium. He may drink Merlot instead of Scotch, but J.J. is molded in the style of past great heros of mystery thrillers in this new book. A real page turner, "Broken Machines" is written by someone who truly knows New York City -- writing dialogue that is real not contrived - and has mastered the mystery genre but with a unique blend of sophistication and action that readers will revel in. Elmore Leanord and Dick Francis better not look over the shoulder, cause here comes Michael Leahey in a souped up Porsche ready to pass them in a flash. This reader can hardly wait for Mr. Leahey's next thriller starring J.J. Donovan.

broken machines

Broken Machines was a definite surprise. I found the characters interesting, quirky and most of all, human. I appreciated the way the characters developed and the plot thickened allowing me in little by little to the point that I was totally hooked; not so much on the plot, but the players. J.J. Donovan and Boris are good guys you can identify with. They are true students of human behavior and give you the feeling their always on the learning curve, so when they make a discovery, as the reader, so do you. From Ruby, the murdered prostitute, to her son Clifford and from Katz to Detective Negro and from Manny, the doorman to Madam Karina, along with a myriad of other well-defined rich characterizations Leahey has woven a tapestry of intrigue and suspense that would hold the attention of the most severe cynic. I highly recommend Broken Machines as a must read. Hats off to Michael Leahey. Looking forward to my next outing with J.J. and Boris. A New Fan, John Woehrle

This Darkly Comic, New York Mystery is a Treat

Michael I. Leahey's Broken Machines is a skillful and entertaining New York crime novel, that grabbed me right at its poignant tragic prologue, and held on through its righteously satisfying epilogue. Peopled by some truly scurrilous and vulgar New Yorkers, and their honorable and stalwart counterparts, this book delivers the goods. The street savvy, literate, tough but tender hero J.J. Donovan, who knows his Veuve Cliquot, and appreciates a good vodka-soaked Spanish olive as much as the next guy, is our guide through Upper Manhattan, and the brutal streets of East New York Brooklyn. Along with Donovan for the ride is his partner, friend and next-door neighbor Dr. Boris Koulomzin, a brilliant, drolly eccentric bear of a man who rarely ventures outdoors before the sun sets. These two are consultants, who offer their services to people "who think they've run out of options". People whose "problems the legal system has either created, made worse, or is incapable of addressing". In Boris and J.J. Leahey gives us a two great characters who could in time, equal Nero Wolfe and Archie, or Travis McGee and Meyer. I look forward to following their further adventures. In this first one, the story of Donovan's quest for a killer, and his uncovering of the scamming of the manufacturing plant where he goes to work undercover, we're treated to a tightly constructed mystery. This is Michael Leahey's first novel, and he fills the pages with dozens of truly engaging characters in one great New York scene after another. One of my favorites happens on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and it reveals where Mr. Leahey's local baseball allegiances lie. There are some truly funny scenes, and some of real tension and high human drama. A good hard-hitting, wise, funny and satisfying story this is.I'm ready to read the next J.J Donovan tale, and hope there are many more to come.

Triumphant urban noir

New York City business partners James Joseph Donovan and Boris Mikail Koulomzin provide consulting services to people whom have no remaining option. The legal system for whatever reason failed justice 101, leaving Donovan and his associate with plenty of customers, who pay a sizable fee.Good friend, social case worker Janet Fein asks Donovan to do a favor involving a murdered prostitute, Ruby Brice and her ten-year-old-boy Clifford. Janet wants Clifford to have a real chance to succeed, but first he needs the murder solved. Janet believes the police arrested the wrong person and offers a potential clue involving Brooklyn's National Manufacturing Corp. Donovan agrees to make inquiries and starts by landing a job at the National Manufacturing Corp. However, even Donovan is not prepared for the layers of depravity and corruption that threaten to leave him dead in a neighborhood dumpster.BROKEN MACHINES is the debut of the Donovan sleuthing novels and although the hero is unlicensed, he is as good as any of the urban private investigators. The story line can become overwhelming with its tiers of corruption that turns a simple case into a complex investigation. Although the plot is tense and loaded, the cast makes this tale work. Donovan, Dr. K, Janet, Clifford, and the City provide the right amount of intelligence, chutzpah, and reality to transform Michael I. Leahey's novel into a triumphant urban noir.Harriet Klausner