Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Company of Demons
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://michaeljordanbooks.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: American
Married; divide their time between homes in Rocky River, Ohio, and Longboat Key, Florida.
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 92121379
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n92121379
HEADING: Jordan, Michael
000 00386cz a2200145n 450
001 1700785
005 20020327033153.0
008 921222n| acannaabn |n aaa
010 __ |a n 92121379
035 __ |a (OCoLC)oca03291161
035 __ |a (DLC)n 92121379
040 __ |a DLC |c DLC |d DLC |d DNLM |d UkOxU
100 1_ |a Jordan, Michael
670 __ |a The maturing years, 1995: |b t.p. (Michael Jordan)
953 __ |a sh14
PERSONAL
Married Linda Gross Brown (an artist).
EDUCATION:Ohio Wesleyan University, undergraduate degree (highest honors); George Washington University, law degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, lawyer, and novelist. Practicing trial attorney and arbitrator for more than three decades. Was a member of the Law Review at George Washington University.
AVOCATIONS:Traveling, pleasure boating.
MEMBER:International Association of Crime Writers.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Michael Jordan is a practicing trial attorney and crime novelist. In addition to his love of traveling, which has included climbing Mt. Fuji, he also has acted on stage. In his debut novel, The Company of Demons, Jordan tells the story of a lawyer in Cleveland, Ohio named John Coleman whose friend is brutally murdered in a manner that resembles a decades old series of murders in which twelve people were dismembered. According to Jordan the idea for the novel first came to him when he first moved to Cleveland. Jordan was in a conference room waiting for a deposition to begin and was looking at some old black-and-white pictures of Cleveland. While looking at one picture in particular, an attorney came in and said the picture was of Kingsbury Run, where the Torso Murderer had left many of his victims without their heads. The city of Cleveland lived in fear for nearly a decade as the killer eluded police, including the famed Eliot Ness.
Although Jordan initially thought of writing a nonfiction book about the murderer and Ness’s investigation, he ended decided to write a novel about the Torso Murderer’s return. First, however, Jordan decided he had to learn the craft of writing and, as a result, attended seminars and writing conferences, talked with editors, and read books about writing.As for making the protagonist a lawyer, Jordan noted on his home website that he wanted to avoid stereotypical characters, such as the tough detective or the former Navy SEAL. Instead, he wanted to create an extremely flawed character who was in danger of losing everything unless he confronts his personal demons
Novel protagonist John Coleman narrates the story. Readers learn that John’s father was a police detective who ended up committing suicide when John was still a teenager, supposedly due to his inability to capture the serial killer named the Butcher. Traumatized by his father’s death, John underwent further anguish when the Butcher sent a letter to him taunting him about his father’s death. In later years, John developed numerous character flaws. He cheats on his wife, is an alcoholic, and also a probable racist. “Let’s erase any illusions about what is going on here; John Coleman is not a good person,” wrote a contributor to the Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks website.
John’s psyche is nearly shattered when his friend Oyster Fredericton is horribly murdered. Oyster is decapitated and eviscerated in what appears to be a return of the Butcher, who seems to be a copycat killer, killing his victims like the infamous Torso Murderer. Soon, the Butcher commits more murders. Meanwhile, John’s marriage is in trouble, a situation worsened by the fact that John succumbs to the advances of Oyster’s daughter Jennifer, who has hired John to handle her late father’s estate. It turns out that John also had an affair with Jennifer’s older sister, Martha. Also complicating matters are Jennifer’s drug-addicted brother, an ex-cop with a shady past, and biker gan that has no compunctions about killing anyone.
“If you’re looking for a thriller that’ll make you feel conflicted, then The Company of Demons is the book for you,” wrote the Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks website contributor, adding later in the review that the novel takes some time to “to get rolling.” A Publishers Weekly contributor remarked: “Jordan does a good job making his lead’s flaws vivid and plausible.” A contributor to the Clues and Reviews website noted that the novel seemed like two different novels from the first half of the book through the second half and that Jordan probably could have written two separate novels, starting off a series in the process. The Clues and Reviews website contributor nevertheless went on to call The Company of Demons “fast paced” and commented: “I could not put it down as I watched … John … get himself deeper and deeper into trouble.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, November 6, 2017, review of The Company of Demons, p. 63.
ONLINE
Clues and Reviews, https://cluesandreviews.wordpress.com/ (January 22, 2018), review of The Company of Demons.
Michael Jordan Website, http://michaeljordanbooks.com (March 16, 2018).
Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks, https://quirkycatsfatstacks.com/ (January 16, 2018), review of The Company of Demons.
ABOUT MICHAEL
Michael Jordan obtained his undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, with highest honors, and his law degree from George Washington University, where he was a member of the Law Review. A trial lawyer and arbitrator for over three decades, he has been recognized as an Ohio Super Lawyer and named to Best Lawyers in America. A member of the International Association of Crime Writers, The Company of Demons is his first novel.
An avid traveler, Michael has climbed Mt. Fuji, swam in The Devil’s Pool on the cusp of Victoria Falls, trekked a glacier in Patagonia, and visited numerous other countries. Yes—an international thriller lies in the future! He has also acted in several theatrical productions and his experience on stage is helpful in creating characters for his novels. He is currently working on his next book, a thriller set during the closing stages of WWII.
A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Michael and his wife, Linda Gross Brown, a soft pastel artist, divide their time between homes in Rocky River, Ohio, and Longboat Key, Florida. They enjoy traveling, pleasure boating, and very cold martinis.
For Readers
The idea for writing The Company of Demons came to me years ago, soon after I had moved to Cleveland. Waiting in a bleak conference room for a deposition to begin, I passed the time by examining a few mid-century black-and-whites of the city. As I studied one photograph in particular, an older attorney entered and commented that the picture was of Kingsbury Run, where the Torso Murderer had left many of his victims.
I had no idea whom he was talking about—but was soon hooked on the tale of the infamous, brutal killer. The fact that he had evaded Eliot Ness and terrorized Cleveland for over a decade was both mystifying and gripping. For a time, I considered writing a non-fiction book, focusing on the interaction between Ness and the killer, but could not break away from the idea of a novel that imagined the eerie return of the Torso Murderer to the Cleveland of today.
I then needed a character to tell the story, and didn’t want a stereotypical ex-Navy SEAL, tough guy, hard-bitten private investigator. John Coleman is a deeply troubled man who faces the very real prospect of losing everything he has. As he careens from one life-altering event to another, he can save himself—and his family—only by confronting his own personal demons.
It took years of effort to learn the craft and grasp the process of creating flawed, believable characters whose story we want to know. Seminars, writing conferences, editors, books on writing, and more seminars. And writing, of course, pure and simple. Applying my posterior to a chair for as long as I could tolerate and clicking away at my keyboard until The Company of Demons emerged. Thank you for letting me share with you the enduring mystery of the Torso Murderer.
Print Marked Items
The Company of Demons
Publishers Weekly.
264.45 (Nov. 6, 2017): p63.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Company of Demons
Michael Jordan. Greenleaf, $15.95 trade paper
(336p) ISBN 978-1-62634-451-8
Cleveland, Ohio, attorney John Coleman, the narrator of lawyer Jordan's uneven first novel, was traumatized
as a teenager by the death of his police detective father, who committed suicide after he failed to catch the
serial killer known as the Butcher. A taunting letter addressed to John and signed by the Butcher, deriding
his father as a laughingstock, only added to his trauma. Decades later, those demons return with a vengeance
when Oyster Frederickson, a casual friend of John's, is decapitated and eviscerated, apparently by the
Butcher. John, who once had an affair with Oyster's daughter Martha, who's now deceased, allows himself
to be seduced by Oyster's other daughter, Jennifer, imperiling his marriage. Meanwhile, the Butcher, who
may have been copying the slaughters committed by an earlier uncaught serial killer, the Torso Murderer,
continues to add to his body count. Jordan does a good job making his lead's flaws vivid and plausible, but
multiple contrivances undercut the suspension of disbelief. Readers should be prepared for some graphic
violence. (Jan.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Company of Demons." Publishers Weekly, 6 Nov. 2017, p. 63. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A514056600/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f07c57e7.
Accessed 5 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A514056600
I received a copy of The Company of Demons from Bookish First in exchange for a fair and honest review.
If you’re looking for a thriller that’ll make you feel conflicted, then The Company of Demons is the book for you. Michael Jordan’s debut novel (and no, not the Michael Jordan you’re thinking of) is about a man (John Coleman) caught in the webs of two different serial killers. There will be times where you’re not really sure who to root for (okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, I never rooted for any of the killers to win, but it was close), and times where you feel like you know which way is up.
Spoiler Warning
Warnings first: As mentioned above, there are two different serial killers in this book. Both have graphic ways of killing their victims, much of which is explained. (Serious spoiler warning here) there’s a scene where John is being tortured that I found to be a bit more graphic than I am comfortable with, and in the end resorted to skim reading it. Considering yourself warned.
I’ll admit I’m feeling conflicted about this novel. Never have I read a thriller where I disliked the main character so much (with the exception of where the main character was the killer of course). And I don’t mean he was a poorly designed character, I mean he’s a jerk. I’ve never been put in a position where I have to sincerely hope the jerk in the book makes it out okay, and that was a different experience for me. I actually appreciate that, in a way. Jordan has shown me that the main character doesn’t have to be charismatic, or moral, or nice to get put in a really shitty position and still have us care about him.
Let’s erase any illusions about what is going on here; John Coleman is not a good person. At every turn we’re reminded of yet another reason to not like him (he’s a cheater, alcoholic-refusing treating, racist, etc), but I actually think that was the point. Much like A Christmas Carol we’ve been introduced to a character that many would consider irredeemable, in hopes of showing us the amount of progress he’s made by the end of the book. At least, I believe that is what Jordan was attempting to do here. While Coleman isn’t the redeemed man that Scrooge is by the end (but that may be my bias showing, as I adore A Christmas Carol) he still is a changed man, and one can’t deny it. Granted, we only get to see him taking the first steps into his new life, so we don’t get the feeling of permanency at all here (the one thing I think this moment was lacking).
Despite starting the novel off with a killing, the main plot sort of takes a while to get rolling. Probably because there’s really two (or three, depending on how you want to look at it) plots going on at once. First there’s the serial killer/s to consider. They have to be properly established first, then the whole mess with Jennifer (and I still maintain John is an idiot to not have seen that one coming), plus the side effects and reactions to everything already mentioned. So it takes a bit, so say the least. Things really start moving around the halfway point.
If you’re reading this novel now, and are looking up reviews to decide if it’s worth finishing (something I believe we’ve all done at one point or another), I would tell you to give it a shot. If nothing else, you’ll get to see John get put the wringer (aka court) a bit, which is slightly satisfying, even if it is for a crime he didn’t commit.
All things said this was a pretty strong first novel. I can’t pretend I like the characters introduced here, but I also don’t think I was supposed to. The plot could have used a bit more work (I think a simpler one would have sufficed) but on the whole it was pretty decent. I’ll be curious to see what Michael Jordan comes out with next.
I really enjoy a legal thriller. Give me a John Grisham or Michael Connelly novel and I am one happy camper! So, when I read the synopsis of The Company of Demons, the psychological legal thriller by Michael Jordan, I dove right in. Meeting a lawyer, John Coleman, who discovers the corpse of his friend behind their neighbourhood bar sending shockwaves through the city and bringing back painful memories of a killer who dismembered and taunted police decades earlier and vanished. As John tries to cope, he is hired by the victim’s daughter, Jennifer, to handle her father’s estate and soon finds himself entangled with a biker gang, dirty cops and romantic feelings.
Truly fast-paced, I sat down and finished this book over the course of an afternoon. I could not put it down as I watched our protagonist, John, get himself deeper and deeper into trouble. The ultimate anti-hero, I actually found myself hating him. It almost felt completely unbelievable how many terrible choices he made!! Page after page, I read (pretty much in horror) as he continued down the wrong path. I was so mad. However, kudos to Jordan who was able to create a character that made me feel so many emotions!
One feature that I enjoyed about this book was how it felt almost like two totally different reads from the first and second part of the novel. In fact, the author probably could have published both separately and started a series! I liked that I was able to get a full story and then continue on a totally different path.
Like I said, I binge read The Company of Demons over the course of a few hours and feel like any crime fiction lovers will too! This novel is out now, so, be sure to add it to your TBR piles!! I know that I will absolutely read more from this author and will be on the lookout for his next work!
THANKS TO THE AUTHOR, THE PUBLISHER AND NETGALLEY FOR A DIGITAL COPY OF THIS NOVEL; IT WAS MY PLEASURE TO PROVIDE AN HONEST REVIEW.