Grab Ant Farm (Seamus McCree #1) Scripted By James M. Jackson Accessible As Paperback

start to a series, I got a little bogged down in the actuarial details, and a lot of that could have been left out, but enjoyed the mystery anyway, I have read later books in this series and liked them more, Authors like to think we get better at writing over time, so it is a good thing when the later books are better than the first one, Had I read this book in the series first, I probably would not have read another one, I found the descriptions regarding the actuarial aspect of one crime Seamus McCree is investigating boring, But I find moneyrelated storylines boring in general so I avoid books about them whenever I can,

I wish, too, Jackson would cut back on the words he devotes to flowers and birds, Just when a scene gets rolling along, he has Seamus tell us about bird flying overhead or the smell of flowers, breaking up the flow of the scene.


But I like Seamus and that counts for a lot in books I read, So, Ill be back for more of his adventures, Ant Farm is a tightly woven thriller that introduces us to James Jackson's Seamus McCree, As a prequel it accomplishes more than just the introduction of a character but brings us into the financial world and its many deceptions through a murder mystery.
The procedures in both McCree's unit and the police interactions I found extremely believable and wellresearched, Jackson's style of writing reminds me of Michael Connelly's, with a very smooth narrative tone with a dry humor to it, I did feel at times there were too many extraneous details for my taste but that's a personal preference, All in all, a fabulous start to a series I look forward to continuing, I just love James Jacksons character, Seamus McCree, Ant Farm is Bookof this series, Seamus is sort of the odd duck in the police and detective mystery world, Hes a financial analyst solving crimes and he has a backup team of IT people, This guys smart. Theres a little humor in him, a little smartass attitude, and hes distrustful of most everyone at first, Amid all this, he has a very real love for his son and a great relationship with him at least most of the time,

I must confess something here, I read Bookof this series first, It could easily stand alone, but this is a great series, It is wellwritten, very clear to understand and as you already have realized, I think it has great characters, But James Jackson has accomplished a lot and I bet Im going to find more as I read Bookwhich I will do ASAP, Heres what Im trying to say, Seamus McCree is a great character but by reading Bookand BookI realized just how much James Jacksons characters have grown in this series, I can tell that Seamus and his author have grown together, Whats a very good and fun guy to read about

in Bookbecomes a character totally comfortable in his own skin in Book, Did James Jackson plot his books out to let we readers see Seamus progressively become a deeper, even more real character or did it just happen as Jackson became a moreseasoned writer Im not sure but Im gonna keep reading and see if I can figure it out.


As I said in my review of Book, please be working on BookMr, Jackson.

This book was provided to me free of charge in exchange for an honest review,
Jim Jackson nails a first line "I flicked on the porch light and discovered grief standing in front of my door, " I loved ANT FARM, the prequel to his other two Seamus McCree mysteries, The twists of plot just kept on giving, and his characters felt like real people, especially Seamus and his hacker son, Paddy, The writing was deep, the crimes intriguing, Read the book. You won't be able to put it down! Loved this book with all the action and suspense, There was nothing I didn't like about it, Mostly liked how persistent Seamus was in solving the cases he was on and the relationship with his son Paddy, I was left on edge wondering what was going to happen next clear up to the end,
Actually the title got my attention! Jim Jackson's latest Seamus McCree mystery is like that old girlfriend who shows up at the reunion ever hotter than you remember.
You can feel Seamus' fatigue at the beginning of the book, his reluctance to get pulled into anything over which he doesn't have control, But, like all good detectives, just a taste of intrigue is enough to keep him coming back for more, Filled with interesting characters and great relationships between them, Ant Farm is a lively read, Say hi to that old flame, Awesome Book!

This was such an awesome book! Great mystery,plot,and characters, It kept me guessing and was so good,it was hard to put down, Highly recommend this to all mystery lovers!,
MY OPINION:
.
Another bllsht story about a winesipping, “overhead fan”loving, NPR listening, Hiroshimabombhating, delicate, properly attired, rich, male, dedicated jogger, and divorcee with a house, with what he describes as “brainpower,” and a “sixth sense,” who wants to play detective.


This book seems chockablock, pagefilling, stuffed with bllsht:

“ the neighborhoods main advantages remained the same: close to downtown, great views, and not outrageously priced.
I parked off Milton on the stub of Young Street that provided four extra parking spaces, Young was a discontinuous street starting at Liberty Hill Road and running up Prospect Hill, Because of the steep incline, stairways connected the brief smear of asphalt I was on with Corporation Alley below and Boal Street above, ”

“Standing outside Pressers place, I noticed a cooling breeze rising up the hill, following the gap in the houses caused by Young Street and its stairways.
A squadron of chimney swifts plied the skies, wheeling overhead, chittering after insects, From the tangle of plants next to the stairway down to Corporation Alley came the raspy buzz of a rufoussided towhee requesting me to drink your tea, I pulled my attention from the birds and examined the outside of Pressers apartment, It occupied first floor and basement of an Italianate row house perched on the southeast corner of the intersection of Milton and Young, A second apartment occupied the upper floor, The greenpainted brick façade was in good condition and retained its original sixoversix windows in the front, Miltons upward slant resulted in roofformed mountain peaks, each one higher than the last, A stone retaining wall in the rear prevented Milton from joining Corporation Alley below in one mad slide down the hill, ”

Etc.
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.

What BLLSHT !!!!!!!!!

“ The virulence of her hate of the Japanese left a caustic aftertaste mouthwash could never eliminate, She was good at stirring up the troops, even if she confused the Germans and the Japanese of World War II, Her kind of hate needs to be challenged and I had wanted to, but Id retreated when I remembered I was there representing the sheriffs office, Id bet she was like the many Americans who believe they have no culpability for our treatment of Native Americans or Nisei in World War II internment camps, whereas our enemies evil character is the root cause of crimes against us.
What bullshit. ”

Aaaaaannnnd, I quit reading this “bullshit,” as he says, at page, not caring what comes next,
. Enjoyed it alot

Great story and writing style, Not a cliff hanger hate those but characters and some background situations will carry over to the next book, Looking forward to the next one, Seamus McCree is an unusual mystery sleuth who solves crimes using his accounting skills more than his physical power, I liked his quirky sense of humor and the way he puzzled through complex financial crimes, Even though most of his sleuthing happens on an office computer, there's still plenty of action and suspense, Ant Farm is a pageturner that kept me up past my bedtime several nights, On a personal note, although I run shorter races, I enjoyed the details about Seamus' training for a marathon, because I related to his need to fit his training around his hectic life.
This is the second book I've read and reviewed in the Seamus McCree series, I nominated Ant Farm in the Kindle Scout program and made a good choice because the book was selected for publication, Seamus is an interesting character, solving financial crimes in a different way than most investigators: he uses his brain, I had to use mine to keep up with the shifty shenanigans and multiple plots, but it was worth it in the end, Great secondary characters too, which in my opinion is necessary for a good series, which this is, I have Cabin Fever on my Kindle and look forward to reading that one too,
A LOT OF TERMS REGARDING INSURANCE AND OTHER DETAILS I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT, BUT THIS DIDNT SPOIL THE BOOK FOR ME THOUGH, THIS WAS SUPER INTERESTING, I LOVE THE MAIN CHARACTER SHAMUS, HE IS VERY SMART, AND SO IS HIS SON, I FIND THAT IS SO VERY SEXY, GROWL! HE COULD SNIFF OUT ANSWERS TO COMPLEX PROBLEMS AND HAS A VERY KEEN SENSE OF SMELL AND IS WAY TOO STUBBORN, D
If you haven't read James M, Jackson's previous novels Bad Policy and Cabin Fever in the Seamus McCree mystery series, this prequel is a fine place to start, Fast paced, with fully drawn characters, Jackson draws us in with the skill of an accomplished storyteller, If you have read his previous books, never fear! Ant Farm will fill in those "before" blanks nicely, while holding up as a standalone mystery, But reader beware: Seamus IS addictive! Did you or your kids ever have an ant farm Remember the thin thing with glass on both sides holding in dirt and ants.
You could watch the ants dig new tunnels, carry food back and forth and go about their daily lives, Jim Jackson says financial crime is as transparent as an ant farmall you have to do is watch the ants scurry, Or you can smash the glass and follow one ant, Youll have to read his new novel, Ant Farm, to figure out which option Seamus McCree chooses in this his third outing, Ant Farm is a prequel to Bad Policy and Cabin Fever,
Lest you think financial crime makes boring read, let me assure you that Jackson mixes in enough suspense, excitement, and actionplus some murderto keep you turning the pages.

Jackson deftly moves beyond stereotype when Seamus' life is in danger, His companies assigns him a businesslike bodyguardefficient but distant, And she's a womanmakes it clear there will be no hankypanky, This is business. Neat bit of role reversal as this woman tells Seamus what to doand he does it, Women to the rescue! A surprise ending will leave you stunned,
Jim Jackson has once again crafted a fine novel,
I loved this book! Seamus McCree is a great character, funny, grumpy, smart, and loving to his son, Paddy, He gets to the bottom of things in his own way, and is like a cat with nine lives, This is my first mystery by James M, Jackson and I read it until I finished it in the wee hours of the morning,
I will be reading more from this newtome author and I hope he keeps them coming,

From Amazon:
In this first novel in the Seamus McCree series, thirtyeight retirees meet a gruesome end at a picnic meant to celebrate their achievements, and financial crimes consultant Seamus McCree must uncover the evil behind the botulism murders.


But the deadly picnic outside Chillicothe, Ohio, isn't the only treacherous investigation facing Seamus he also worms his way into a Cincinnati murder investigation when the victim turns out to be a church friend's fiancé.

While police speculate this killing may have been the mistake of a dyslexic hit man, Seamus uncovers disturbing information of financial chicanery, and by doing so, puts his son in danger and places a target on his own back.
Can Seamus bring the truth to light, or will those who have already killed to keep their secrets succeed in silencing a threat once more It pains me to give Ant Farmbecause it is good book.
I give itbecause I don't like the ending, It feels rushed and forced, A little too unrealistic for my liking, But, I quite enjoy the book, Cannot wait to read another Seamus McCree story, Investigator Seamus McCree is assigned to look into a mass murder at a picnic with botulism as the murder weapon, At the same time, he agrees to find out why a young friends fiancé was killed, The crimes are connected, and McCree quickly discovers that the manipulation of a companys financial system is behind the murders, That is, follow the money, My knowledge of the financial system is basically limited to checking account/savings account so the intricacy of annuities and related financial topics was outside the scope of my knowledge.
Author Jackson makes sense of all this for the reader, At the same time, he takes us on a highly suspenseful, and sometimes downright heartpounding ride, as McCree solves the crimes and confronts more than one killer, A very positive aside is McCrees relationship with colleagues and friends, and especially with his collegeage son Patrick, A great read! Highly recommended, .