Reef Dance
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
There is a certain poise that comes with understanding the ocean's moods, tapping a pulse borne of a distinct, untamed, unfathomable energy source. An equilibrium, located on a singular track between the sucking trough and the pitching crest. A sense of perfect balance on a rolling, temporary stage, not a single movement wasted. A spray-blinded late takeoff in roaring Santa Ana winds. A confidence, knowing your instincts won't let you down.
Thirteen years ago J. Shepard's mother rose before dawn, packed a bag and walked out of his life forever. Since then, the rolling surf has been his only escape, a refuge from the daily stress of his job defending parents in the overburdened L.A. juvenile dependency court, and from the dark, unanswered questions of his past. When J. is assigned a high profile case, one in which a mother is accused of selling her child to the highest bidder, even a day in the surf won't let him escape. J. can't hide from the media attention that the case draws, and nor can he hide from the painful memories of his own desertion that the case congers. He realizes that if he does not confront the mystery of his own past he will always be stuck in equilibrium, unable to move against his emotional and physical tide. He will be stuck in the darkest spot in the ocean, the reef dance.
J. simultaneously throws himself into the case and search for the reasons behind his own mother's disappearance. In order to succeed in both areas, however, he must rely on an old friend, Jackie Pace, a wayward surfing legend with a sordid past, that no one believes is reliable. But J. needs his friends help, and Jackie must rise to the challenge not just because he is J.'s friend but because he is much more intimately linked to the mystery than J. could ever know.
Reef Dance will suck you into the surfer's pacific, pulling you deep within it's mystery, and the turmoil of one man's soul.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A reef dance is surfing jargon for being stuck in one place and unable to move, aptly reflecting the dilemma of attorney J. Shepard in this edgy, in-your-face legal thriller. Stuck in the deepening grind of custody cases and a workload so overweighed that lawyers refer to clients as "Mother," "Father" and "Minor," not out of insensitivity but through sheer necessity, Shepard spends his days in a rut, unable to get out from under his staggering caseload and dreaming of surfing. One day a high-profile case involving baby-seller Sue Ellen Randall leads him, through many roundabout routes, back to his deceased mother and her uncertain fate. The author spent two years defending parents and children in dependency court before becoming a state bar prosecutor; he's also contributed to Surfermagazineand Surfer's Journal. The resulting confluence of two wholly disparate genres will appeal to some fans and leave others indifferent. DeCure vividly evokes the courtroom milieu, and has a flair for action scenes, particularly a violent set-to with a heavy: "I leapt from the bushes and clamped him hard from behind driving him up to take his feet off balance. We went down with a thud in a cloud of soft dirt, my left arm pinned beneath his chest, and I lost my grip for a second. He felt my hand letting go and freed himself enough to drive an elbow into my chin, popping me back and stunning me." Undeniably effective. But most readers, and mystery fans in particular, will find that surfing and detection make for an uneasy mix.