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The swindling of an elderly widow leads to "a greased-lightning tale of scam and counterscam" from an Edgar Award–winning author (Kirkus Reviews).When a drunk driver kills her entire family, Florida retiree Irene Gustafson is left rich and alone. Between savings and life insurance, the death of her son and his family leaves her with nearly $300,000—a veritable fortune in a community where most live off social security. Following the advice of Ann Landers, Mrs. Gustafson hands the money show more over to an investment manager. The returns are steady until he starts investing in Willow Tree, a low-income housing development on the fringes of the Twin Cities. The money vanishes, and Mrs. Gustafson is destitute. That's where Holland Taylor, Minneapolis private detective, comes in. His recently retired parents are Mrs. Gustafson's neighbors, and they want Taylor to recover the old lady's money. It seems impossible, but as he investigates Willow Tree he finds a twisted real-estate conspiracy with deep roots in city politics—and a vicious killer hired to protect the secret. show less
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Member Reviews
Set in Minnesota.
Holland is asked by his father to help a friend get her money back from a crooked financial adviser.
This is a very good mystery. It kept my interest.
Holland is asked by his father to help a friend get her money back from a crooked financial adviser.
This is a very good mystery. It kept my interest.
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Author Information
35+ Works 1,670 Members
Former newspaper reporter David Housewright left his job to pursue a full-time career in detective fiction writing. Housewright then introduced Holland Taylor, his recurrent main character in his books Penance and Practice to Deceive. He won an Edgar Award for Best First Novel and a Shamus Award for Best P. I. Novel for his writing in Penance. show more (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Practice to Deceive
- Original publication date
- 1998
- People/Characters
- Holland Taylor; Cynthia Grey; Levering Field; Steve (Sara) Vandertop (Sara); Sidney Poitier (Freddie) Fredricks (Freddie)
- Important places
- St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; Fort Meyers, Florida
- Dedication
- For Eugene and Patricia Houswright. For Renee
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 84
- Popularity
- 378,328
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.86)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 1
