Customer Reviews

Cold Quarry (A Frank Palvicek Mystery)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Private Eye writer Andy Straka excells at pulling his plotlines straight out of the headlines, as he shows again with "Cold Quarry," his latest entry in the fine Frank Pavlicek series. Basing a novel on terrorism these days is risky. If the plotline is too close to real events it'll be decried as cheap sensationalism, and it's no longer fashionable to devise wildly unrealistic terrorist stroylines as it was before September 11th. Straka strikes just the right balance, combining a gritty, realistic scenerio that's just far enough away from actual events to keep it comfortable.

Straka's hero is a hard-boiled P.I. of the old school who nevertheless has his tender moments. He hails from Charlottesville, Virginia (home of the University of Virginia), but this time out Straka effectively takes Pavlicek to the wilds of West Virginia to do battle with an assortment of white supremacists, lowlifes and shadowy government types. He's joined again by his sometime sidekick and former homicide partner, Jake Toronto, whose backstory gets some examination this time out.

I won't give away too much of the plot other than to say the book starts out with the murder of a friend of Pavlicek and Toronto who is a fellow enthusiast for the sport of falconry. The official police line is that the death was a hunting accident, but when Pavlicek is brutally attacked while visiting the crime scene, he immediately suspects foul play. When he starts asking questions, other people start to die and it becomes apparent that his friend Toronto is mixed up in something very dangerous.

Overall, "Cold Quarry" contains plenty of action as well as colorful and sympathetic characters and firmly establishes the Frank Pavlicek series as one of the best P.I. series to come along in recent years.

Frank Pavlicek, a P.I. in Charlottesville, Virginia, goes to nearby West Virginia because his friend Chester Carew has been found dead on his property. Chester had been out hunting with his falcon Elo. Now Elo is missing and Chester is dead. The police think it was a hunting accident. Frank and his friend Jake Toronto don't believe that. They begin investigating.

Frank finds the police constantly telling him to go home to Charlottesville and leave the investigating to them, but he isn't convinced they are looking in the right places.

Frank's daughter Nicole, a college student who is working with him in the office, wants to help with the investigation. Frank sends her back to Charlottesville to do some work in the office. She is not pleased with this, but does it. Frank isn't sure how he ever ran the office without her.

As Frank investigates, he finds himself getting deeper and deeper. Jake ends up getting himself in trouble with the law. Could they be dealing with terrorists or just the local radicals? Who can they trust? In the end Jake and Frank are both in danger.

The author has created great characters and the falcon hunting really adds to the story. I enjoy this series because it is often set in Virginia where I am living. I like the mystery about Jake. It really adds to the story. I hope in future books that Frank is able to have a healthy love relationship. I like Nicole working with Frank. I think this adds to the story. I hope she becomes more involved over time.

The story goes so many different directions it is difficult to figure out who the killer is and why. I like the way he crafts his stories.

I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

In Nitro, West Virginia, Falconer Chester Carew is working his bird Elo when the falcon suddenly disappears. Chester is able to track him via a telemetry recoverer, but he walks into an ambush and is murdered, shot in the back. Attending the funeral is fellow falconers Frank Pavlicek and his former partner in the NYPD Jake Toronto. Chester's widow wants to hire Frank, who now works as a private investigator in Virginia, to find out who killed her husband.

The police tell her it was probably a drunken hunter but Mrs. Carew thinks the Stonewall Rangers, a local right wing militia group, had something to do with it. As soon as Frank starts asking questions and stirring the locals up, he is asked to "stand down" by the local police, the FBI and the ATF who have a sting operation in place that takes priority. Frank isn't one to back off and that is a good trait because he learns that the stingers are about to be stung.

The protagonist, Frank Pavlicek is a strong willed character who is so loyal to those he cares about that when Mr. Toronto is arrested, Frank does everything in his power to help him. The events that take place in this book are a reflection of the persistent atmosphere of the United States government following the events of September 11, 2001. Andy Straka not only knows how to weave current events into his story line, but also he creates an exciting thought provoking who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner

Let's say your name is Frank Pavlicek. A private investigator created by Andy Straka who day starts off by attending a funeral of a good friend and fellow falconer. You don't quite make it there before some dude gives you a rap in the chops with a shotgun barrel. Straka then sends the gal you think your in love with on her way because she has better things to do than hang around with you. Well at least things can't get any worse---WRONG! Straka ratchets up the action and tension several notches in this novel. Character profiles from previous books are strengthened giving his best buddy enough mystic to spin-off his own series. Also, Frank's daughter comes to the forefront as a modern Nancy Drew. Straka is still managing to do good writing without vulgarity and gore. He gives you dangerous enemies, suspect friends, and tempting gals. Good job Mr. Straka.

I hope this second Frank Pavlicek book (for me) isn't an omen of the same old, same old. While the scenario is different from the first, there are many similarities and the hero and his friends are regurgitated.

This is a murder mystery, which I usually like, but not this one. It was hard to follow and I just couldn't get interested in the characters. It is built around the sport of falconry, which might have been interesting, but wasn't.

There are murders happening one after another, every possible law enforcement agency has a hand in the investigation, local militia members are possible terrorists, plus plenty of other odds and ends. Some government intrigue novels are interesting; this one not so much.

I would not recommend, as I could never get interested in the story. I found I didn't even care if they escaped the big explosion at the end or not!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for writing a review.

I got this book free to read and review.
The story starts with a private detective's colleague being killed in a hunting accident so naturally he investigates. The story slowly builds from here with a very slowly developing story which only bursts into action at 60% (Kindle measurement). Unlike many stories it does not end with a twist but builds to a logical conclusion. There are however some gaps in the plot and some continuity is missing but I still thought it was OK rather than good.

Frank Pavlicek is called to the wilds of Virginia when a friend and fellow falconer dies in mysterious circumstances. Is it a simple hunting accident, a plot by a local militia group, or did the dead man discover a larger conspiracy to profit from domestic terrorism? Frank is repeatedly warned off the case by the local cops and the feds, but he persists, through car bombs, assaults, murders of key witnesses, even when his partner framed for everything and taken into federal custody. The action builds steadily to a climax that will keep you glued to the page. If you're a fan of the PI genre, thrillers, or political novels, you'll enjoy this book. [I received a copy of this book free in exchange for this review.]

Cold Quarry by Andy Straka.

I have received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for your review from the author Andy Straka.
This book took me three hours to read on my digital download program. Although I do many book reviews I don't do many in digital format. I was excited to read this book due to the investigative and mystery settings of this book. There is a "spoil Alert" in this review as it was well worth doing the review and a book I could not put down. If you are into investigation, mystery type books this book will take you all the way through an investigation that the ending will shock you into reality. What I especially liked about this book is the history that the author had done because of his mentioning things like 9-1-1, Oklahoma bombing and Hitler with his pigeons as trained messengers.
Betty and Chester Carew married thirty years and adopted one son named Jason who in the story is eight years old. Chester is a retired chemical engineer. Chester owns a special type of foundry Hawk that he takes on his hunting on the property he owns. Chester has a huge love of animals but especially his bird (ELO).
One day when Betty did not hear back from Chester for a known doctor appointment she called Frank Pavlicek to investigate. As Frank knows the hunting areas of Chester, he heads up to through the woods to get any clues and as he was searching for clues, a masked man tried to kill him. Frank manages to escape and the man runs free.
As the story unfolds three people are found dead and the mystery continues to shock you until the very end.
Written by Jackie Paulson © 2012

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my review.
I enjoyed reading the Cold Quarry. I would read more books by this author.