I am a fan of Blue Bloods, so this is why this book / author appealed to me. I enjoyed the writing and the characters especially the main character - Jeep. The way it was structured (chapters back and forth between present / past was easy to understand and gave it a bit of a change. I however, felt the actual "mystery" was a bit of a letdown. It seemed like the author sort of forgot how to deliver a good ending. I would however recommend this book to Blue Blood fans and will certainly give this author another try if he chooses to write another. I would even enjoy another story line with Jeep as the main character! Thanks Netgalley!

I heard this was a fun read--it's that and way more. Smart, gritty, thoughtful, and set in NYC. I understand that review needs to be 100 words., which of course I don't need. And sorry to say I've quit Z/Twitter in the aftermath of November election. But i'm talking this book up like mad and will recommend to all my great reading friends. And a very important request: . Bring Johnny back for more, please!

Gerald Paul Mullane, or "Jeep," ex-NYPD Detective now Police Chief of Middle Brookville, has his hands full. As the law enforcement agent of the swanky Long Island North Shore, he is responsible to five mayors, and his beat often butts heads with the Nassau County Police Department. Illegal immigrants set up an upscale car ring targeting the area's fancy cars of wealthy owners, and they're boosted through the Port of New Jersey as fast as they're snatched. So far, the criminals just grab the cars and go, but it might be escalating. Meanwhile, a body of a forty- something man washes ashore with no ID, and a mauled face...unfortunately Jeep sees a tattoo of crossed lacrosse sticks over the body's ankle and can immediately make him. It was rich kid Johnny Chambliss, his best friend since high school, who lived his life in and out of trouble. Even though their lives intertwined for years, Jeep was always the "townie," while Johnny was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. He spent his life fighting his heritage, while also enjoying its privileges, earning the pejorative nickname "Johnny Careless." And for some reason, both of these crimes seem to intersect.
This is Wade's debut novel, but he is absolutely no stranger to the written word. His screenplays include Working Girl and Meet Joe Black. and he helped shape the television series Blue Bloods. He really knows how to do this! The reader is immediately caught up in the police procedural while the fast pace of the action also allows time for great character development-we follow Jeep and Johnny's complicated friendship, the influences of their families, and the woman who loved them both. This is a gritty story of a tough detective, but the novel also has its humorous side, especially when Jeep has to deal with his snooty bosses and their misplaced values systems. Can Jeep catch a break or will money win? I hope this is the beginning of a new police series-Jeep would be a great addition to the genre and I would happily follow his adventures.

Johnny Careless is a police procedural and the author's first novel written during the COVID pandemic. The author is a successful tv writer and executive producers, who has been a lead writer for the popular tv show Blue Bloods. Based on that description I decided to read the book.

The best thing about the book is the characters, who are well developed and sympathetic except where they shouldn't be. "Jeep" Mullane, the lead character, gave up a career at the NYPD, which he joined following in his father's footsteps, to take a better paying job as Chief of Police for several wealthy small towns on Long Island's North Shore. When he was growing up he played lacrosse with the son of one of those wealthy families, John (Johnny) Payson Chambliss, who befriended him. Mullane came from the "other side of the tracks" but was somehow accepted, with some limits, by the wealthy crowd. Without offering any spoilers, let's just say the storyline revolves around Mullane's efforts to solve both a murder and to catch an auto theft ring that has been stealing the high end cars in his domain as well as elsewhere in the NYC suburbs.

The novel moves forward, but also backwards in time to develop the plot lines, with chapters close to alternating, especially at the beginning of the book. I generally find this approach tedious, but the author does a reasonable job of linking the past and the present, helping the reader to understand the link between Jeep and Johnny and the relationship Jeep has with Johnny's parents and ex-wife, their social circles, and other pieces of the puzzle.

The storyline moved along well and I found myself wanting to read the next chapter. The keys to the puzzles are not total surprises, but the way they are handled is well done. I particularly enjoyed Jeep's interactions with the Mayor of the towns who are his bosses, with detectives and other staff of his own department and the Nassau County PD, which is the lead on the murder investigation. Jeep often relies on his deceased father's teaching and advice in making key decisions. He comes across as the classic "good guy."

If you enjoy police procedurals with well developed characters or a setting in the wealthy suburbs in which a middle class Chief of Police is responsible for law and order, you will like this book. I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a pre-publication copy of this book. I don't write that many reviews, but when I find something I enjoyed it seems fair to spread the word.

I found this book to be less than what I expected. The main character is fairly well developed, but many of the others are not and there are way too many minor players in this book. It had great potential, but the author tried way too hard to make it a crime, when it was an accident (which was fairly easy to figure out). It also greatly overplayed the entitled rich versus the working stiffs and the societal gap between them. Good potential in the plot, but it just fell flat for me.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Goodreads, Net Galley, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

Let me start by saying that “Johnny Careless” by Kevin Wade grabbed and held me until I finished. I wish the author had more books I could devour now.
The Plot and characters develop nicely, with a fast-moving pace, and the ending grabbed me.
The main character, Police Chief “Jeep” Mullane, is down-to-earth and relatable. I found myself rooting for him as he investigated the death of his childhood friend, Johnny Chambliss, aka “Johnny Careless.”
The Dialogue crackles with just the right amount of wit.
The Setting. Having lived on Long Island’s North Shore for two years, I felt the people and places were spot on and helped bring the story to life. I look forward to the story being made into a movie or the start of a TV series.
Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the eARC for me to review.
I give “Johnny Careless” a 5 out of 5 rating.

The main character, Jeep Mullane, finds himself back in his hometown as Police Chief after leaving his detective job at NYPD. His childhood best friend, Johnny, is found dead on the beach. I thought the writing was good. I could definitely visualize the locations as the story played out. It just felt like there were too many side stories and I had a hard time keeping track of all the players. All in all not a bad read.

I was issued this book by NetGalley for my unbiased opinion.

An interesting story centered around an honest, respectful cop and a life long friend. Some twists and turns to reach the conclusion. I just didn't feel the character development was there. I would be interested in reading another story by Mr. Wade.

I just wrapped up Kevin Wade's "Johnny Careless" and I've got mixed feelings about this one. As someone who devours crime procedurals, I was really excited to dive in, especially given Wade's screenwriting background. While there's definitely stuff to like here, I found myself wanting a bit more.

Let's start with what works. Our main guy, Police Chief Jeep Mullane, is exactly the kind of character I love in these stories - he's rough around the edges but totally relatable. After a rough case with the NYPD leaves him burned out, he heads back to Long Island's North Shore looking for peace and quiet. But you know how these things go - his old friend Johnny Chambliss (total player, by the way) turns up dead, and suddenly Jeep's dealing with all sorts of drama involving the town's rich and powerful.

Wade really nails the setting - you can practically smell the salt air and feel the tension between the mega-wealthy summer people and the year-round locals. And I've got to say, the dialogue crackles. There were times I could totally picture this as a TV show, which makes sense given Wade's background.

But here's where things get sticky. The book takes its sweet time getting going, which I normally don't mind, but then it kind of meanders through the middle with way too many characters to keep track of. Just when I thought we were getting somewhere with the mystery, we'd veer off into another subplot that didn't really go anywhere. And don't get me started on the ending - it felt like Wade suddenly realized he needed to wrap things up and hit fast-forward.

The real heart of the book is when we're in Jeep's head, dealing with his complicated feelings about coming home and losing his friend. Those moments felt really genuine and kept me reading. But I wish we'd gotten the same depth from the other characters - Johnny's rich family and his ex-wife felt more like sketches than real people.
Look, it's not a bad book by any means. If you're into crime fiction and like your mysteries with a side of small-town secrets, you might want to give it a shot. Wade's got potential, and I'd probably pick up the next book if this turns into a series, hoping he tightens up the pacing and fleshes out the supporting cast a bit more.

Three stars from me. It's a decent enough read, just don't go in expecting the next great crime novel.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for providing a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I thought this book was great. I had to get used to seeing ‘Jeep’ as a person’s name as opposed to a vehicle, but otherwise I thought it was a fantastic read. Loved the dialogue as well.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Johnny Careless, by Kevin Wade, from Celadon Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

While this wasn’t bad as far as debut novels/first in a series go, it wasn’t as good as I expected it to be given that it was written by a veteran police procedural screenwriter. Would give it 2.5 stars if I could.

But I can’t, so I’m rounding down. And that is because there were too many insignificant ancillary characters, a lot of the dialogue seemed stilted, things got a little convoluted-y, and Long Island’s North Shore didn’t grab me as a locale. I mention the latter because most of the police procedurals I’ve enjoyed have featured the settings in which they occurred as important characters in their own right. So I’m spoiled in that regard.

I’m sure there are plenty of people who will really enjoy this book and what I hope for their and Kevin Wade’s sake is an ongoing series. As for me, there are others with whom I’d much rather spend time than Police Chief Jeep Mullane going forward.

DESCRIPTION
“A fast-moving classic crime novel” (John Sandford) crafted by the veteran screenwriter and showrunner for the acclaimed police procedural series Blue Bloods, Johnny Careless is Kevin Wade’s razor-sharp debut novel.

Police Chief Jeep Mullane has been bounced back home to Long Island’s North Shore by a heartbreaking case that both earned him his NYPD detective’s shield and burned him out of the Job. Now heading up a small local police department, he finds himself navigating the same geography he did growing up there as the son of an NYPD cop. Jeep is a “have-not” among the glittering “haves,” a sharp-witted, down-to-earth man in a territory defined and ruled by multigenerational wealth and power and the daunting tribal codes and customs that come with it.

When the corpse of Jeep’s childhood friend Johnny Chambliss—born into privilege and known as “Johnny Careless” for his reckless, golden-boy antics—surfaces in the Bayville waters, past collides with present, and Jeep is pulled into a treacherous web. He is challenged by Johnny’s wealthy and secretive family and his beautiful, enigmatic ex-wife as he untangles a knotted mystery fraught with theft, corrupt local moguls, and decades-old secrets, all while grappling with his own deep-seated grief for his lost pal.

A fast-paced story, Johnny Careless “combines grit and wit in a way that conjures Donald Westlake or Robert Parker in full stride” (Carl Hiassen).

I really enjoyed this book. I like the style of the chapters with moving from past to present
as a way to build your foundation while telling the story. I also enjoyed the accuracy of
the inner workings of (actual) Law Enforcement at the different levels and in different communities.
As the story goes, it’s clear to me that the Author was (or had been) a television writer due
to the organization of the book~something of the styling that seemed like a prime time
cop show, It works well here, with so many characters and locales, not to mention the
inner working differences in agencies, which is well done.
I also enjoyed the names and nicknames of the characters, and the descriptions of
possessions and vehicles the wealthy folks had. I love to read about the area
where a lot of the story takes place, and having visited, I thought about the
people and places.
I found I needed a quick Kleenex break…A rarity for me… The conclusion
of the story was absolutely perfect and I hope that there would be another
book forthcoming, without a Writers Strike !
My thanks to Celadon Books via NetGalley for a download of this book
for review purposes.

The storyline was interesting, however, I didn’t care for some of the raunchy comments and some of the stereotypical police comments.