PEPPERFISH KEYS [Hardcover]

Darryl Wimberley (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Unknown (2007)
• ASIN: B0028QAEWI
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting and masterful mystery!, November 17, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pepperfish Keys (Barrett Raines Mystery) (Paperback)

Darryl Wimberley hails from Florida, but graduate from the Air Force Academy in Colorado. He also holds an M.A. in English Literature and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He presently lives in Austin, Texas. PEPPERFISH KEYS is his seventh Barrett Raines mystery.

Barrett Raines is the unusual detective who could have had his pick of positions, but who settled in Deacon Beach in Northern Florida. Raines is also African-American, which makes his job that much more difficult in backwater Florida. He has already survived the murder of Ramona, with his brother as chief suspect. His relationship with his wife, which has its rocky moments, is rapidly deteriorating. He has become Special Agent Barrett "Bear" Raines in PEPPERFISH KEYS. To this end he must investigate the murder of Beth Ann Stanton, the daughter of Florida Senator Baxter Stanton. Raines and Stanton have tangled just recently over possible illegal campaign activity. Beth Ann, ever the rebel, has a relationship with one of the areas true dirt bags, a punk named Eddy DeLeon. To make matters worse, ambitious and bitchy TV reporter Sharon Fowler is using Raines as a stepping stone to a promotion in New York:

"'Eduardo DeLeon did not kill Beth Ann Stanton,' she repeated evenly. 'He may be a thief. He may even be in bed with Baxter Stanton, something that thanks to you two we may never know. But he didn't kill Beth Ann Stanton. I am confident he did not.'

'Confident enough to, say, supply us a witness?'

'I never reveal my sources, Bear. You know that.'

'You've ambushed a few.'

'My privilege. More than that - my right.'"

Wimberley's Bear Raines is a gentle giant with a huge heart and shrewd mind. His plot is tight and fast, with the facades of his characters peeling away layer-by-layer as the plot thickens. Wimberley's Air Force experience has, no doubt, taught him the ways and means of both politics and law enforcement. He uses his knowledge to create a monster of a thriller and murder mystery that keeps the reader glued to the book until the final coup de grace. A riveting and masterful mystery!

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer