After a pedestrian start and despite some hackneyed Floridian environmental issues, the second Tony Lowell mystery (after Hour of the Manatee) rapidly intensifies as not one but two psychopaths seize control of the narrative. Divorced, ponytailed Lowell, a Vietnam vet who's crazy for boats and doesn't like guns, is most interesting when he parks his morals and beds a killer's wife. The nephew of an old friend, a young black man investigating a phosphates-manufacturing company, is shot to death. Overworked career-cop Lena Bedrosian, another friend of Tony's and a sometime stick in the mud, asks him to help investigate. The bad guys here, Dickey Cahill and Leonard Smith, are the intriguing characters. Dickey's wife is Tony's unwise conquest. The dead youth had the bad luck to fall for Leonard's girl, who had once tangled with Dickey (and has a kid to prove it). Had Ayres given Dickey and Leonard central roles, this would have been a richer book; had he put more humor into play, he'd have entered Elmore Leonard territory. Still, the vicious twosome are unforgettably bad, providing a nice foil for Tony, who seems a little too good but remains a likable fellow.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Tampa Bay-area private investigator Tony Lowell is an underemployed Vietnam vet and inveterate sailor. He assists police detective Lena Bedrosian (Hour of the Manatee, St. Martin's, 1994) in solving the murder of a young African American employee of the state's environmental protection agency. Tony's quest for information takes him to the inland hamlets of Orange Blossoms and Manatee. While there, he questions the close-mouthed employees of a phosphate plant about a suspicious sinkhole and dodges the abusive boyfriend of a beautiful witness. Ayres exhibits mastery of the Florida setting, a firm handle on characterizations, and a good sense of dramatic timing. For all collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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