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Clamour of Crows
Clamour of Crows is a brilliantly crafted modern morality play that charts the life and curious death of the legendary entrepreneur Ben Baum, replete with mayhem, mystery and, perhaps, murder. The novel's reluctant protagonist, Jonathan Tucker, finds himself drawn into a maze of deception, death and betrayal. Having lost the only things that matter, he is induced by his mentor to reengage with his former Wall Street law firm.
Tuck, as he is called, has to develop skills he never possessed, just to stay even with an unknown adversary in the world of Big Law, bigger business and international chicanery. Ingeniously told, this saga blends elements of classic literature with nonstop action across two continents, taking you to the edge of your emotions and reeling you back, without ever losing its sense of humor and style. Peppering his story with allusions to the world's most adored children's classics, the author explores the height of greatness and the depth of evil.
In Clamour of Crows, Ray Merritt has created a witch's cauldron of intrigue, betrayal and unnecessary deaths, as he explores the dark side of human nature and the fundamental essence of family and forgiveness.
Tuck, as he is called, has to develop skills he never possessed, just to stay even with an unknown adversary in the world of Big Law, bigger business and international chicanery. Ingeniously told, this saga blends elements of classic literature with nonstop action across two continents, taking you to the edge of your emotions and reeling you back, without ever losing its sense of humor and style. Peppering his story with allusions to the world's most adored children's classics, the author explores the height of greatness and the depth of evil.
In Clamour of Crows, Ray Merritt has created a witch's cauldron of intrigue, betrayal and unnecessary deaths, as he explores the dark side of human nature and the fundamental essence of family and forgiveness.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published June 30, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 31, 2016
Mystery surrounds the death of the legendary entrepreneur Ben Baum. Meanwhile mystery lies in the past of one-time lawyer Jonathan Tucker, almost broken by the loss of wife and family. Companies and people fall in the face of tragedy, but what determines how companies and people rise?
Reluctantly, Tuck is drawn back into the city, away from the quiet hideout that assuaged his grief. Black crows of depression and clamour follow him, intriguingly illustrated in chapter headings, dangerously present in conversation, and different from ravens, as the narrator pleasingly explains to his dog, Nip.
Author Ray Merrit gives this narrator a quirky, humorous voice, even when deep in self-recriminations. Tuck has a fascinating absorption with collective nouns, so perhaps he’ll collect himself and his clues over time. Meanwhile his honest separation from the world of Big Law makes him simultaneously vulnerable and powerful. Dialog is convincingly brief in the personal, and beautifully filled with a lawyer’s (and writer’s) love of language in the business world. The boardrooms of corporate law come to life just as vividly as countryside of raven and crow. And wonderful literary allusions pepper the page, born of an old man’s obsessions with hobbits, Alice and Oz.
Family feuds and betrayals mirror the lies of corporate law, as revealed in mystery, mysterious runes, and intricate political maneuvering. King Lear peeks from behind the bed of death, and Middle Earth will be blended with Alice’s Looking Glass and the secrets of Oz. The language of Wall Street proves as filled with myth as that of literature, and childhood’s heroes may prove to have feet of clay. But crows and dogs have a devotion all their own, and lessons to teach.
As backstory blends into front, Tuck will either heal or fail, and Nip might save the day. Clamour of Crows is the sort of mystery that draws you in with so many clamoring threads, you have to finish reading to find your way out. Then birds will fly, and a truly surprising ending will satisfy.
Disclosure: I was given a preview edition by the publisher, and I offer my honest review.
Reluctantly, Tuck is drawn back into the city, away from the quiet hideout that assuaged his grief. Black crows of depression and clamour follow him, intriguingly illustrated in chapter headings, dangerously present in conversation, and different from ravens, as the narrator pleasingly explains to his dog, Nip.
Author Ray Merrit gives this narrator a quirky, humorous voice, even when deep in self-recriminations. Tuck has a fascinating absorption with collective nouns, so perhaps he’ll collect himself and his clues over time. Meanwhile his honest separation from the world of Big Law makes him simultaneously vulnerable and powerful. Dialog is convincingly brief in the personal, and beautifully filled with a lawyer’s (and writer’s) love of language in the business world. The boardrooms of corporate law come to life just as vividly as countryside of raven and crow. And wonderful literary allusions pepper the page, born of an old man’s obsessions with hobbits, Alice and Oz.
Family feuds and betrayals mirror the lies of corporate law, as revealed in mystery, mysterious runes, and intricate political maneuvering. King Lear peeks from behind the bed of death, and Middle Earth will be blended with Alice’s Looking Glass and the secrets of Oz. The language of Wall Street proves as filled with myth as that of literature, and childhood’s heroes may prove to have feet of clay. But crows and dogs have a devotion all their own, and lessons to teach.
As backstory blends into front, Tuck will either heal or fail, and Nip might save the day. Clamour of Crows is the sort of mystery that draws you in with so many clamoring threads, you have to finish reading to find your way out. Then birds will fly, and a truly surprising ending will satisfy.
Disclosure: I was given a preview edition by the publisher, and I offer my honest review.
July 16, 2016
This was a hard book to get into, but once I did, I enjoyed it.
I would like to add that the writing was a little long winded at times and I felt myself drifting, but I would quickly get sucked back in.
I would like to add that the writing was a little long winded at times and I felt myself drifting, but I would quickly get sucked back in.
August 16, 2018
Note: I always include a paragraph on the appropriateness of the book toward the end of my review for advanced young readers who might be interested in reading the featured book.
This book is written in first person with a light, humorous tone that belies the seriousness of the topic. Tuck tells the story in a rather offhand way, slightly understating the events that occur. He does not focus much on the emotions of the characters or even his own emotions, but rather chooses to concentrate on the developments in the case.
For someone like myself who knows very little about law or business, the details of the story can be a trifle confusing at times, but not so confusing that the implications of what is happening cannot be understood. If you would like to enjoy the story to its fullest, I would recommend that you have at least a very basic understanding of how these things work before reading this book.
Clamour of Crows did not have the suspense I was looking for. Admittedly, I am the kind of reader that likes a lot of suspense in books, especially mystery books, but this book had almost none. I think suspense is a must-have for mysteries, and without it, this book lacked the ability to grip me as the reader. It was not a boring book that I had trouble getting through, but it was certainly not a page turner.
I would not recommend Clamour of Crows as a book you should definitely read. It is not the most interesting book; without the suspense it becomes a bit too much like simply relating the events as they occur. However, it is a book that requires a bit of thinking, as most mystery books do. If you like more intellectual books, then this could possibly be a book you would enjoy. I would recommend it for a more mature audience because of its theme – investigating the death of a powerful man and the implications it has for his business as well as the law firm. In addition, Tuck seems to occasionally notice certain aspects of the figures of the women he works with, something to consider before reading the book. There is also some use of profanities, mostly coming from one character who only makes a few appearances in the book, but occasionally from other people. All in all, unless you wish to read Clamour of Crows simply to stimulate your thought processes, I would suggest reading a more engaging book.
For additional book reviews:
https://voraciousbookworms.com/
This book is written in first person with a light, humorous tone that belies the seriousness of the topic. Tuck tells the story in a rather offhand way, slightly understating the events that occur. He does not focus much on the emotions of the characters or even his own emotions, but rather chooses to concentrate on the developments in the case.
For someone like myself who knows very little about law or business, the details of the story can be a trifle confusing at times, but not so confusing that the implications of what is happening cannot be understood. If you would like to enjoy the story to its fullest, I would recommend that you have at least a very basic understanding of how these things work before reading this book.
Clamour of Crows did not have the suspense I was looking for. Admittedly, I am the kind of reader that likes a lot of suspense in books, especially mystery books, but this book had almost none. I think suspense is a must-have for mysteries, and without it, this book lacked the ability to grip me as the reader. It was not a boring book that I had trouble getting through, but it was certainly not a page turner.
I would not recommend Clamour of Crows as a book you should definitely read. It is not the most interesting book; without the suspense it becomes a bit too much like simply relating the events as they occur. However, it is a book that requires a bit of thinking, as most mystery books do. If you like more intellectual books, then this could possibly be a book you would enjoy. I would recommend it for a more mature audience because of its theme – investigating the death of a powerful man and the implications it has for his business as well as the law firm. In addition, Tuck seems to occasionally notice certain aspects of the figures of the women he works with, something to consider before reading the book. There is also some use of profanities, mostly coming from one character who only makes a few appearances in the book, but occasionally from other people. All in all, unless you wish to read Clamour of Crows simply to stimulate your thought processes, I would suggest reading a more engaging book.
For additional book reviews:
https://voraciousbookworms.com/
June 8, 2017
This will be a very mixed bag of a review.
Some of the things that didn't work for me in the book were the very things that made me rather like the author. He had a charming affinity for dogs, nomenclature of the gatherings of creatures, and classic children's literature (you know...the kind that adults crave and return to again and again like a guilty pleasure). I also get the sense of a deep, abiding sorrow that is an undercurrent of not only the main character, but the writer as well. All these facets pointed me to a really lovely person who I'd probably meet at a party and befriend.
But in the context of the story, they didn't mesh.
It was jarring to have the forced advent of references to 'Alice in Wonderland, ' 'The Hobbit,' and 'The Wizard of Oz' disrupt the flow of a tale of intrigue. Also, my personal goblin is anything that pertains to the death or harming of an animal. I was hard-put to continue past mention of such things. Nonetheless, I persevered.
The next hurdle was the accumulation of characters and evidence that smacked of someone steeped in the legal profession. My non-legal mind lost interest in too many people with their backstories in clumsy positions that, again, disrupted the story.
And last, (spoiler alert), the car crash that took out a large number of baddies at the end was like not knowing how to wrap things up. I kept flashing on a story I'd written as a jab at literary devices once upon a time. After lots of set up "They were all hit by a bus." The End. And then, to add insult to injury, the epilogue was another odd jolt of fate. At one point the writer said that tying things up all nice and tidy wasn't real and wouldn't happen in life. Yet, that's the feeling I got in the end.
I felt Mr. Merritt wanted a happy ending. He did his best after getting in a little too deep and killing off all the troublesome bits in one fell swoop. We are left with an unsatisfying book and an author who feels like someone you'd enjoy knowing.
Some of the things that didn't work for me in the book were the very things that made me rather like the author. He had a charming affinity for dogs, nomenclature of the gatherings of creatures, and classic children's literature (you know...the kind that adults crave and return to again and again like a guilty pleasure). I also get the sense of a deep, abiding sorrow that is an undercurrent of not only the main character, but the writer as well. All these facets pointed me to a really lovely person who I'd probably meet at a party and befriend.
But in the context of the story, they didn't mesh.
It was jarring to have the forced advent of references to 'Alice in Wonderland, ' 'The Hobbit,' and 'The Wizard of Oz' disrupt the flow of a tale of intrigue. Also, my personal goblin is anything that pertains to the death or harming of an animal. I was hard-put to continue past mention of such things. Nonetheless, I persevered.
The next hurdle was the accumulation of characters and evidence that smacked of someone steeped in the legal profession. My non-legal mind lost interest in too many people with their backstories in clumsy positions that, again, disrupted the story.
And last, (spoiler alert), the car crash that took out a large number of baddies at the end was like not knowing how to wrap things up. I kept flashing on a story I'd written as a jab at literary devices once upon a time. After lots of set up "They were all hit by a bus." The End. And then, to add insult to injury, the epilogue was another odd jolt of fate. At one point the writer said that tying things up all nice and tidy wasn't real and wouldn't happen in life. Yet, that's the feeling I got in the end.
I felt Mr. Merritt wanted a happy ending. He did his best after getting in a little too deep and killing off all the troublesome bits in one fell swoop. We are left with an unsatisfying book and an author who feels like someone you'd enjoy knowing.
August 2, 2017
I should have liked this book more than I did. The author has style, and the story has a lot going for it, including international intrigue, interesting and layered characters, and beautiful locations. Add to that an obvious love of animals and tidbits of children's stories woven into the plot and what's not to like, right? But this just never grabbed me. At first I thought it was just a slow starter, and, although it did pick up the pace, I never anxiously awaited turning the page. And the dispatch of the bad guys and final twist in the epilogue just seemed a little too fantastical for me. Give it a try - your results may vary. But I was hoping for great and only found acceptable.
August 20, 2017
“Creative Storytelling”
Jonathan “Tuck” Tucker has been asked to rejoin his Wall Street law firm. There is some international problems with the death of Ben Baum, whether murder or happenstance. With new skills he attempts to do just that by unraveling a mystery in corporate law that crosses several nations. This was a fun story; though corporate law mysteries are not a genre I really care for. But the author weaves an interesting tale while blending elements of children’s classic literature along the way. This is a good mystery with many twists and creative storytelling. Highly recommended.
Jonathan “Tuck” Tucker has been asked to rejoin his Wall Street law firm. There is some international problems with the death of Ben Baum, whether murder or happenstance. With new skills he attempts to do just that by unraveling a mystery in corporate law that crosses several nations. This was a fun story; though corporate law mysteries are not a genre I really care for. But the author weaves an interesting tale while blending elements of children’s classic literature along the way. This is a good mystery with many twists and creative storytelling. Highly recommended.
January 18, 2018
Excellent use of vocabulary and references to great literature. Well written.
March 22, 2017
Loved the Tolkien and fantasy tie in, with references to Alice and Dorothy woven into the murder mystery.
December 30, 2016
This was at best ok. I think the plot was overly complex for the length, and there were a bunch of weird things about it. For example, one of the bad guys killed the main character's family 3 years previously for mediocre reasons.
I also had some language issues. It should be pidgin French, not pigeon French. Also, the author has some really weird ideas about Canadian slang. I have never heard anyone say something will make the pouting thicker. I had to read that conversation two or three times to make sure I understood!
And finally, the epilogue was just awful. I was debating between a 2 or 3 star review up until then.
I also had some language issues. It should be pidgin French, not pigeon French. Also, the author has some really weird ideas about Canadian slang. I have never heard anyone say something will make the pouting thicker. I had to read that conversation two or three times to make sure I understood!
And finally, the epilogue was just awful. I was debating between a 2 or 3 star review up until then.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2017
I've enjoyed the audio version very much and must admit I do fall asleep & have to start again then piece it together. For me, this is not a bad thing, it means the narrator is doing a good job. As for the story line, yes, I like the fact that it leaves me wanting more, sticking with tale. I like the subtle humor, the connection to the dog, this character's views & why he thinks as he does, I like the mystery aspect. Someone previously commented on the book turning into a romance...hmmm, guess I better go back toward the ending & stay awake. Yes, I'll try his other books.
August 8, 2016
I wanted to rate this higher, but the beginning was so slow I wanted to quit. Nothing really interesting happened until around 100 pages, and while the story picks up at that point I can't forget the days I kept trying to get into this and putting it down.
July 13, 2016
Oh boy, was this a miss. The author has some writing chops, but wants to impress you more than he desires to weave an interesting story. Completely overwrought. And the ending?!?!?! When did this become a romance novel? I love a twist, but that wasn't earned or even remotely clever.
July 18, 2016
This was a fairly quick read with a nice little mystery at its core. As an avid mystery reader, I enjoyed this book quite a bit.
July 18, 2016
Very well written with a wonderful twist at the end. I won this book through a goodreads.com giveaway. Ray Merritt is a brilliant writer.
July 26, 2016
Wow. This was so good. An intricate, intriguing mystery with too many layers to count. Fortunately, Merritt knew exactly where he was going with each part of this wonderful story.
October 7, 2016
I really enjoyed this suspenseful book.Loved the main character Tuck an all the other odd personalities.A great page turner.I received this book through Goodreads.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews