Dry Heat (David Mapstone Mysteries) [Paperback]

Jon Talton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009 | Series: David Mapstone Mysteries (Book 3)

The past is never past on the mean streets of Phoenix, especially when the mercury hits a hundred and it's only April. Half a century after the unsolved murder of an FBI agent, the missing badge is found on the body of a dead transient. The case seems a perfect fit for David Mapstone, history professor turned Maricopa County deputy sheriff. That is, if he can get past a forced partnership with rival cold-case expert Sgt. Kate Vare and the FBI's strange stonewalling about the details of the agent's killing. To complicate matters, there are the crimes making history today, like the arrest of Russian mafia members in a multimillion-dollar fraud case. David's wife, Lindsey, star of the sheriff's Cybercrimes Bureau, was on the task force that busted the case wide open. But her triumph is short-lived when a hit in Scottsdale leaves three task-force members dead. Lindsey's life in danger, Sheriff Peralta stashes Lindsey and David in a safe house. That doesn't get the good "History Shamus" off the hook, though, as Sheriff Peralta inexplicably demands that David solve the cold case.The trail will take Mapstone to the most forlorn parts of Phoenix, as well as to San Francisco and picturesque southern Arizona, as he slowly uncovers the bloody secrets surrounding the mysterious FBI badge. He's got the brains and the leads. Now all he and Lindsey have to do is live long enough to bring justice to a fifty-year-old crime.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Talton avoids the excessive carnage and high body count that too often mar otherwise competently handled crime novels in his compelling third mystery to feature the Phoenix deputy known as "The History Cop" (after Camelback Falls and The Concrete Desert). When an FBI badge turns up with the body of a homeless man found facedown in a swimming pool, Mapstone recalls the story of John Pilgrim, the only FBI agent ever murdered in Arizona…the heat is on—and it's mostly on Mapstone, who proves a resourceful and intelligent protagonist. Taut prose helps tighten the screws, and the winning, sensitive portrayal of the Mapstones—both of them a relief after too many hard-nosed PIs who are all gristle and no brain—lends credibility to the noirish narrative.” –Publishers Weekly of Dry Heat

About the Author

Author Jon Taltonas writing was developed over 20 years as a journalist, working for newspapers in San Diego, Denver, Dayton, Cincinnati, Charlotte, and Phoenix. Jonas columns have appeared in newspapers throughout North America. Before journalism, Jon worked as an ambulance medic in the inner city of Phoenix. He now lives in Seattle, WA.
http://www.jontalton.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 239 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590586433
• ISBN-13: 978-1590586433
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,406,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars well crafted, January 25, 2011

By 

mbaker (colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dry Heat (Kindle Edition)

the david mapstone series continues go evolve. each book adds more details to the major characters' life stories. the deft layering of relationships with complex myteries, that contain a mix of both historical and contemporary elements, makes these stories interesting to read in order to both solve the puzzle and to get to know the people better!