Cold Water Corpse (Luanne Fogarty) [Paperback]

Glynn Marsh Alam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2003 | Series: Luanne Fogarty

The third in the Luanne Fogarty series of gripping mysteries, set in the swamps and underwater caves of northern Florida where Luanne serves as adjunct scuba diver for the sheriff's department. In it, Luanne investigates the denizens of a shabby backwoods carnival after discovering the bodies of several women in the cold springs. In a setting of circus clowns, a midget dominatrix, and a snake handler minus one snake, she searches for the cold-blooded serial murderer.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A native Floridian, Glynn was raised on a farm among the swamps and live oaks near Tallahassee, where she spent humid summers reading mysteries and swimming in creeks where alligators and snakes lurked in the foliage. She has been a decoder/translator for the Natl. Security Agency, a university instructor, and now teaches English literature in Los Angeles. Twice a year, she journeys back to N. Florida to live among the critters, moss, and deep clear springs--where she calls upon eel grass and river currents to inspire sinister goings on in her stories. Glynn has published two mysteries as well as numerous short stories.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: Avocet Pr Inc; 1 edition (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972507809
• ISBN-13: 978-0972507806
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,672,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Captivating Return to Swamp Country Mysteries, March 23, 2003

By 

Cathy J. Wright (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cold Water Corpse (Luanne Fogarty) (Paperback)

Once again, Glynn Marsh Alam captivates the reader with her third mystery following Luanne Fogarty's continuing adventures in North Florida's swamps and sinkholes. Luanne juggles her "day job" of teaching linguistics at the local University with scuba diving for bodies and evidence in mysterious waters. This time, rather than the sticky heat of Florida summers, which Alam made palpably humid to the reader in previous books, Luanne contends with the cold of approaching winter - cold enough (so locals say) for lizards to crack. This is definitely not the Florida one typically reads about - in many ways.

The story unfolds during Fair week, as a ragtag carnival with a very odd assortment of performers and workers sets up for business. The patterns of a serial killer emerge, a seriously large snake is lurking about, and twists along the way hold the reader until the very end.

I especially enjoyed the way that Alam portrays Luanne's attempts to balance her professional, professorial duties and interactions with her University colleagues with her diving and detective work and interactions with the police and swamp people - some friendly and some not so friendly. All of this makes for another very entertaining time in swamp country.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tracking a Cold Blooded Killer, March 20, 2003

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cold Water Corpse (Luanne Fogarty) (Paperback)

Luanne and Pasquin are on their way to pick up alligator meat for the sheriff department’s booth at the local fair when they discover a woman’s body floating in the shallows. The coroner makes the connection with several other murders in various locations, including a skeleton that Luanne found while working another case two years earlier. Then a traveling carnival worker in the area for the fair is found murdered in the same manner. What was his connection with the women killed? Why did the killer change his or her pattern? Will Luanne figure out the answer before the fair leaves town?

This is the third Luanne Fogarty mystery, and it’s just as great as the others. The characters have grown and continue to develop in this story. I’m very interested to see where the author goes with a couple characters. And I loved watching Tony fight his pride whenever Luanne provided a good direction to go. The story moved along well with a couple sub-plots weaved expertly throughout. And the writing is still top notch. This book is set during the beginnings of winter, and Ms. Alam expertly brings the changing warm and cold weather and the changes to the swamps to life.

This series is wonderful. The mysteries are intriguing and the writing is outstanding. I just finished this book and already I can’t wait for the next. Don’t miss out.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tracking Luanne through the swamps, June 16, 2006

By 

Kathryn H. Atkinson "KHA" (Black Mountain, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cold Water Corpse (Luanne Fogarty) (Paperback)

Once again Glynn Marsh Alam has provided us with realistic, tantalizing and exciting adventures of Luanne Fogarty. I feel like I know this woman who tries to juggle so many aspects of her life as she solves mysteries. I continue to be fascinated by her cabin in the swamps and her swamp friends who help her and keep her safe. If you have not read all three of the Fogarty mysteries, you are missing an opportunity to feel what life is like near the caves and swamps of north Florida. I can't wait to read the next novel from this author.