The Green-Eyed Hurricane [Mass Market Paperback]

Martin Hegwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 2001

In the sultry southern style of James Lee Burke and the hip P.I. voice of Dennis LeHane comes a major new figure on the mystery scene, Martin Hegwood. His first novel, Big Easy Backroad introduced PI Jack Delmas and was a big southern hit. Critics and fans alike fell for his atmospherically dead on, visual writing and his ultra compelling protagonist. Like all Bayou bred men, Jack enjoys a cold bottle of Dixie beer, and a little bit of danger. This time out, Jack finds himself caught in the midst of a deadly struggle for control of Biloxi's waterfront.

Casper Perinovich has shrimped the waters off Point Cadet and Biloxi for longer than anyone can remember. Pushing 80, Casper is still one of the toughest and smartest old birds left on a waterfront increasingly being taken over by big money casinos. To Jack, Casper is like a second father. In need of a break, Jack heads out fishing with Casper, only to have disaster strike. Casper, a lifelong Point Cadet, Mississippi resident and vocal oppoent to the casino development encroaching on this Gulf Coast town, gets home, flips on his light switch, and his house explodes around him. The value of Casper's land, it seems, may have been worth killing over. And as good a man as Casper was, he's got a long list of enemies. Everyone from a band of Vietnamese gangs, some angry local rednecks, Casper's money hungry niece, and even the mayor himself! Jack's determined to find the killer, all the while knowing that the real murderer may be staring him in the mirror all along.

This is a murder story, but it's also the story of a city. Through thorough research and a lifelong love of the south, Hegwood captures modern day Biloxi. It's a Biloxi poised on the brink of moving beyond its shrimping and seafood canning days and into a world where boats that never sail house some of the country's busiest casinos just a foot away from land. Hegwood richly evokes the passing of an era, in a thrilling mystery that will keep you turning the pages long after the last boat sails.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Readers of Martin Hegwood's first novel, Big Easy Backroad, already know that private eye Jack Delmas is a hard-drinking, hotheaded, chivalrous Dixie boy to the core--a kindred spirit to James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux. Delmas is back in The Green-Eyed Hurricane, tussling with the politicos of his hometown, Point Cadet, Mississippi. Point Cadet is no hedonist's Big Easy--it's a small town struggling to adapt to the rigors of a changing economy. This is the working man's Gulf Coast--no bougainvillea and bananas Foster here, but the acrid smell of barge diesel and the salty tang of sweat and freshly netted shrimp.

Delmas has known Casper Perinovich (Mr. Cass) all his life. The old Croatian shrimper lives in a shabby, waterfront house with an enormous dog to keep away the real estate agents and the Vietnamese gang members who plague the neighborhood. The gangs want excitement and a little shakedown money; the real estate agents want land. Progress is coming to Point Cadet, and it's coming in the form of glitzy, greedy casinos. Waterfront property is at a premium, but Mr. Cass, a vocal opponent to development, would rather die than sell out. Unfortunately, that's just what he does when he flips a light switch and his house explodes. His niece, Sheila, isn't convinced the explosion was an accident and hires Delmas to investigate. Delmas knows it's arson, but the official investigation is being stonewalled by the police department, led by Mayor Bernie Pettus. It seems that a certain antagonism between Mr. Cass and Pettus goes back to the days of Hurricane Camille, an epic storm that killed Mr. Cass's wife and son. But unraveling the past, pulling strings, and calling in favors only land the private eye in a tangle of political and business alliances--not to mention the Vietnamese gangs, who are out for blood.

If you can't actually get to the Gulf, I recommend purchasing a pound of peeled shrimp, whipping up a hotter-than-Hades cocktail sauce, pouring a glass of sweet lemon tea, and diving into The Green-Eyed Hurricane. As hurricanes are wont to do, the book will pick you up, toss you around, and leave you shaken--and invigorated. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Casper "Cass" Perinovich, a stubborn and irascible Biloxi, Miss., shrimper, has seriously annoyed the local powers-that-be with his environmental activism in this carefully wrought yet rousing story enhanced by a rich and pungent Gulf Coast atmosphere. A fishing trip with his old friend, PI Jack Delmas, proves to be Cass's last. After the two men part, Cass walks in the door of his Point Cadet home and turns on the light; the place explodes, killing him instantly. Who would want to kill Cass? Just about everyone. He'd been unwilling to sell his enormously valuable shorefront property to casino developers. He had a personal vendetta against the corrupt Biloxi mayor. He had enraged equally his redneck neighbors and the Gulf Coast Vietnamese shrimpers. Cass's niece, Sheila, who inherits his property, hires Jack to investigate his death, though her own innocence soon comes into question. By sheer gall and relentless prying into the roiling local scene, Jack (in his second appearance after Big Easy Backroad) manages to infuriate just about everyone and put himself in serious danger. At times the author, who's the senior attorney for the office of Mississippi's Secretary of State, doesn't provide sufficient motivation. Why don't characters go to the police? Why are they continually foolhardy? And a few too many red herrings muddy the waters. But a kaleidoscope of action fueled by lusty women, beer-swilling rednecks and snarling Vietnamese thugs makes any such flaws seem minor. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; First Edition edition (August 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312979754
• ISBN-13: 978-0312979751
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,923,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only a native can tell, January 1, 2003

By 

Howkim - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Green-Eyed Hurricane (Mass Market Paperback)

I graduated from high school with Martin, and was surprised to learn that he had authored some mystery novels. The first one I was able to read was The Green-Eyed Hurricane. Only a native (or former native) can tell how beautifully Martin's descriptions of the area and people reflect the reality of the Coast. His descriptions of the sun reflecting on oyster shells in a driveway, or the scent of a freshly mowed lawn where the grass is mixed with wild onions were viscerally evocative to me. How many times did I experience these sensations as I grew up? The small details he included only increased the believability of the picture for me. The characters he has developed are only perfect. I found the plot to be extremely believable, as I know something of the history of Biloxi. It fits.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Mississppi Gulf Coast Mystery, February 24, 2002

By 

Amy Clifford (Ocean springs, MS United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Green-Eyed Hurricane (Hardcover)

Martin Hegwod has written a good Mississippi Gulf Coast Mystery...he just may write a great one next. I was very impressed with this second novel. He is getting better each book.

Mr. Hegwood does a fine job of depicting Mississippi Gulf Coast life and culture. Even his physical descriptions of the water routes are accurate. Only a native would be able to describe this in such detail. An earlier review said the book had a Big Easy ambiance, however, this book is Biloxi through and through. Harriet Klausner (#1 reviewer) obviously has never set foot on the Gulf Coast (probably not New Orleans either) or she would have never compared it to Atlantic City. The very idea is inane.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good Coast mystery, March 6, 2001

By 

Joseph R. Hendon (Ocean Springs, MS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Green-Eyed Hurricane (Hardcover)

Very interesting murder mystery. Hegwood's portrayal of life on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is true to life. His descriptions of day-to-day events, such as summer rain storms, shrimping in the Gulf, and government corruption, are particularly vivid. Combine that with interesting, unique and genuine characters involved in a mysterious murder, and the book is that much better.