Tom Turner (5)

Thirty-six year old Charlie Crawford has left the murderous streets of New York for Palm Beach’s glorious sunshine and relaxation. But he’s a cop, and, much to his surprise, he finds he rather misses the excitement of unexpected deaths. Still, as Palm Beach Nasty begins, that excitement is heading to meet him, and Charlie will soon chase serious bad guys again.
I wasn’t sure what to make of the title of this book, but soon I didn’t care. The story’s far too intricate to be nasty. show more And the bad guys don’t wear badges to tell you who they are. Instead the reader follows along with the protagonist, guessing, wondering, believing; catching a would-be friend out the corner of an eye and realizing something’s changed. In a small town, nobody quite knows everything. And secrets might turn out to be more than lies.
The atmosphere’s convincing. The characters, rich and poor, strike just the right tone. Charlie Crawford’s past and future tear at his present, and there’s a pleasing good humor, even to a bar fight, that promises depth as well as resolution.
Palm Beach Nasty lives up to that deep promise. The brooding’s kept to a minimum, the atmosphere’s light as well as dark, deep memories bubble to the surface rather than dragging the reader down, and the whole is a thoroughly good read, a literary mystery that’s more than the sum of its parts. By the end, I’m glad to know there’ll be another Palm Beach novel, and the title sounds just right.

Disclosure: I received a free preview edition from the publisher and I offer my honest review. show less

This thriller starts out strong, with a convincingly drawn setting and interesting central characters. But it turns very violent pretty soon, both in terms of murder and in terms of sex. And when the lead cop put a female colleague in a situation of extreme risk, I starting skipping big chunks. One reviewer said a later entry in the series wasn't nearly as dark as this one: I might give it a try, since the atmosphere is well done.

I'm really enjoying this series. There's nothing earth-shattering about the books, nothing terribly deep. But they are enjoyable stories with enjoyable characters told well. That makes me happy. With that said, the bodies were stacking up in this one, but Crawford and Ott were on the case and the bad guys got their just deserts. And I got a few hours of escape from the real world.

Not as good as the first three in the series, simply because this was way too convoluted. The kidnapping side story just didn't fit with the rest of the book. And that led to too many peripheral characters. It was hard to keep up with everyone and at some point, I just didn't care. Still, I love Crawford and Ott. Such a great duo!