A Witness Above (A Frank Pavlicek Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "That September Friday I took the morning off to enter my hawk; even though the foliage was still too thick for decent hunting, the weather..." (more)
Key Phrases: Dewayne Turner, New York, Sheriff Cowan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Good writing, an interesting plot, and the unusual aspect of falconry…Straka should be proud.” – -- Robert J. Randisi, Founder, Private Eye Writers of America

Product Description

Thirteen years ago, Frank Pavlicek left the NYPD under less than ideal circumstances. Now, the divorced father of a teenage daughter, he works as a private investigator in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he indulges his passion for falconry – and tries to live outside the shadow of his past.

Frank is hunting with his red-tailed hawk, Armistead, when he finds it. A teenage boy’s body – barely concealed behind a pile of brush in a part of the forest Frank recently visited with his daughter, Nicole. It’s a truly gruesome crime scene – one of the many things Frank doesn’t miss about working homicide in the big city.

But what Frank finds in the dead boy’s wallet is even more disturbing: Nicole’s phone number, scribbled in ink on the edge of a bill. He pockets the evidence and flees. Days later, his daughter is in jail. His past is coming back to haunt him. And his reputation – and life – are on the line…

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Signet (May 8, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451202945
• ISBN-13: 978-0451202949
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,106,994 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great new P-I series, May 9, 2001

By	Frank M. McCraw "fmmccap" (Charlottesville, Va. USA) - See all my reviews

Mr. Straka's first book in the Frank Pavlicek series offers the reader a variety of adventures. Pavlicek, a former NYC detective, and his former partner(s) resettle with their families in small-town Virginia after being railroaded off the force for their part in a teen's death resulting from a cop shooting. After his marriage fails in the new setting, Pavlicek moves to Charlottesville where he sets up his PI shop, and develops a taste for falconry. Years later when his hunting bird discovers a dead body and Pavlicek spots evidence that apparently connects the deceased black (drug dealing?) teen with his daughter, Pavlicek is thrust back into family life with all the joys of dealing with his alcoholic former wife and rebellious teenage daughter. As evidence mounts against his daughter, Pavlicek's determination increases. Can Pavlicek and his hawk rise to the occasion?

The reader will recognize the genre's familiar one-two punch of a PI and his sidekick (Spenser and Hawk, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, etc.) with Frank and Jake in this book. The dialogue is not as smart-aleck as some, but the traditional tension and repartee between PIs and state and local police is there. Other slices of life Straka tackle include: a young female black district attorney in a small southern town, turf-battling between the local police department, attorneys, and the state trooper, the intrusion of organized crime and gangs into a small, sleepy southern town, the question of the conversion of a drug dealer to Christianity, much local Central Virginia color, and some of the finer shades of difference between falconry with red-tailed hawks and goshawks. A WITNESS ABOVE raises the intelligence level of a good murder mystery a notch.

I really liked this book. It is interesting and has a surprise ending that ties together all the pieces.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great debut, May 1, 2001

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

His life as a New York cop ended in the mean streets of New Rochelle thirteen years ago when he and his partner Jake Toronto killed an A-student teen they thought carried a weapon. Frank Pavlicek left the city under a cloud to open a private investigative practice in Charlottesville, Virginia with his prime pleasure being falconry accompanied by his bird of prey Armistead.

While hunting together, Armistead locates the murdered body of a teen. The ex-police officer finds the victim's identity stating he is DeWayne Turner of Leonardston, Virginia, home of Frank's ex-wife and their daughter Nicole. He also sees and takes a bill that has written on it Nicole's private number even though Frank knows that he illegally tampered with the evidence. However, in spite of trying to protect his beloved daughter, the police arrest her, increasing the pressure on Frank to solve the murder of a teen known for dealing, but connected with his cherished Nicole

A WITNESS ABOVE is an exciting investigative tale that provides readers with an entertaining story line accompanied by an intriguing look at falconry. The plot never slows down, as Frank needs to prove the innocence of Nicole. Frank is a strong character and the support cast helps readers understand his motives. Flashbacks to New Rochelle and the subsequent trial augment the plot by enabling the audience to actually see what occurred that led to Frank's "disgrace." Andy Straka has introduced a winning new sleuth whose love of falconry adds uniqueness rarely seen in ex-cop turn private investigator novels.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Debut PI Novel, June 21, 2003

By	Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Frank Pavlicek left the NYPD under bad circumstances and set up a PI office in Virginia. He is out falconing one morning when he stumbles, almost literally, on a decomposing body. While looking around before he calls the police, he finds his daughter's phone number in the guy's wallet. But soon, his daughter has been arrested for drug possession, a charge she denies adamantly. With a local sheriff as suspicious of Frank as Frank is of him and a daughter not telling the entire truth, Frank is going to have to work fast to free her and learn the truth.

While I don't normally read PI novels, this one caught my interested because of the falconry aspect. I have no connection to the subject, but I'm always up for learning about something new in books. This story provided some interesting information about the subject without slowing down the story.

And what a great read it was. The characters are all well drawn and easy to care for, and the plot is confusing as well. I had no clue where the story was going until the end.

I will definitely be reading other books in this series. I have to know what happens next to Frank and his friends and family.