From what I read, Roberts heard the term "deep Shaker" used once and decided to use it, even though he never again heard the reference.

I had a hard time figuring out when this was set. I knew early on that it was sometime after 1987 based on the narrative. I also knew the book was copyrighted in 1991. Only late in the book did I find out it was set sometime in the 1990s. I have no idea if there really was such a Jamaican drug connection in Cleveland in that time frame or if that part was fictitious.

I admired Milan's sense of duty to his friendships--friends he's had since childhood. I'm glad he tried to help his friend Matt and Matt's son Paulie. He got himself into a lot of trouble while trying to help his friend. Other friends got angry at him; some got over it, some not. I'm also glad he's trying to be a father to his own two boys, even if he doesn't get to see them very often. I was sorry he and Mary didn't work out (though I kind of figured they wouldn't in the long run, since I've read at least one book from later in this series out of order and she wasn't in it).

Again, I didn't recognize most of the places (other than street names) that Roberts referenced in this book. Vuk always reminds me of one of my colleagues. His name was Steve Vukovich, but many of us in his class called him Vuk too. At the end of this book, I learned that these first three books of the series were written before Les Roberts moved to NorthEast Ohio, and that he felt he better captured the ambiance etc. after his move, so I am hopeful that I will start recognizing more landmarks etc. as I read later books in the series. ( )

Deep Shaker is the fourth Milan Jacovich mystery I've read, and it's the one I like least, so far. I thought the book started slow (stories involving obnoxious teenagers are not my favorite reading matter), but then things picked up and I enjoyed reading until about 50 pages from the end when things come to a climax. . . but you're not at the end of the book yet, and what comes after is only moderately involving. Milan, on a one-man crusade against drugs, spends a lot of time alternately squabbling with friends and feeling sorry for himself. On the other hand, I really liked Waco Morgan, local car dealer extraordinaire. I'm hoping Milan will perk up in the next book and go back to chasing murderers. ( )