Hour of the Manatee [Audio Cassette]

E. C. Ayres (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1994

A laid-back remnant of the Beatles' generation, unlicensed private eye Anthony Lowell uses nothing but his quick wits and intuition to expose a small-town political scandal with its roots in Washington, D.C. A first novel.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A weary and reclusive news photographer turned PI must delve into a quarter-century-old death for answers to a recent murder in this atmospheric mystery set on Florida's Gulf Coast. A dotty old woman is shot to death in a motel just as she is asking Tony Lowell to investigate the 1966 drowning of playboy heir Henry Hartley III. All he knows is that she was institutionalized after witnessing the death, which was ruled accidental. A visit from two FBI agents and hints of political scandal goad Lowell to stay on the case, which has been assigned to conservative detective sergeant Lena Bedrosian of the Manatee City Police Department. Lowell returns to the Hartley home in Palm Coast Harbor, an enclave of the wealthy where Lowell himself grew up as son of the local police chief. His probing leads to another murder, and he and Bedrosian must flee or become the next victims. Ayres's protagonist, a burnt-out survivor of the '60s and '70s, of Vietnam and Watergate, is a properly alienated PI. His foil (but not his romantic interest), the defensive and determined Bedrosian, may be a little overdone, but nevertheless the two work together to a satisfying conclusion to this tale, which won the 1992 St. Martin's/Private Eye Writers of America Best First PI Novel contest.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Tony Lowell is a former UPI photographer who took early retirement to Florida, where he spends his time kicking back, fixing boats, teaching photography, listening to 1960s music, and occasionally doing freelance detecting if the price is right. Then he gets a call from another retiree, Maureen Fitzgerald, who swears she's got the inside, eyewitness scoop on the death, years before, of one Henry Hartley, a filthy rich playboy. Fitzgerald claims it was murder and says she was "taken away" so she couldn't identify the killer. Before Lowell can question her further, she's shot to death, leaving our hero to avenge her murder by ferreting out the true story behind Hartley's death. Ayres writes entertainingly about the idle rich and the sleazy methods they use in the race for power, money, and fame. There are no surprises here--we've read it all in the tabloids--but Lowell is an appealing renegade who enjoys bucking the system, and there's always a vicarious thrill in watching the rich get caught. Emily Melton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Books on Tape (December 1994)
• ISBN-10: 555108096X
• ISBN-13: 978-5551080961
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,565,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After winning the St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America Best First P.I. Novel competition back in 1992 (for Hour of the Manatee, writing as E. C. Ayres) I published three more Tony Lowell Mysteries over the next six years, then took time off to raise my son.

Following three years living and working in China (2004-2007) my first non-fiction trade book, Inside the New China is now available from Transaction Publishers, on Amazon.com and elsewhere. For those of you who remember my hip-detective Tony Lowell (TL is also the original eco-detective) and would like to see more of him they will soon be back in print under my original pen name E.C. Ayres, together with the fifth of this series: Cry of the Heron. Please be sure to visit my web site, www.geneayres.com for details on these and other current and forthcoming books, as well as a photo album, current news, a more detailed biography, and my socio-political satire blogspot (there is a link on my website).

UPDATE: My mystery thriller The Shakespeare Chronicles, written under my pseudonym John Underwood and now translated in six languages, has just been published in Italian by Newton Compton Rome, and is already a bestseller in Italy. I am still awaiting a U.S./U.K. publisher, which has been delayed for six years due to controversial content and subject matter. Recent release of the film Anonymous has opened up the door to this subject, and more should follow.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ayres Creates a Great Swampy Mystery, April 8, 2000

By 

Chad Roller - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hour of the Manatee (Tony Lowell Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

E.C. Ayres creates a wonderful setting of swampy Florida and his characters fit right in. The cast of Lowell and Bedrosin are so opposite that they mesh well into a great mystery.

Note: ALMOST ANY BOOK THAT WINS THE PWA/ST. MARTINS PRESS BEST FIRST PRIVATE EYE NOVEL CONTEST IS A SURE BET--Les Roberts(An Infanate Number of Monkeys), and Steve Hamilton(A Cold Day In Paradise).