Angel's Cove
A Harry Rice Mystery
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In his second book, following The Harry Chronicles, which won the 1995 PWA/St. Martin's First Private Eye Novel Contest, Allan Pedrazas brings back the wise-cracking Florida private eye Harry Rice in Angel's Cove.
Harry is enjoying a state of semi-retirement and a moment of serenity as the owner of the tropical beachside pub the Sand Bar when a frantic phone call from his regular day bartender, Carla, interrupts his reverie.
Carla's father's unexpected death has led her back to the small coastal town of Angel's Cove. There she discovers that the time of his death doesn't correspond with when she last spoke to him. Then a threat in the form of a dead kitten warns her to back off.
Enlisting Harry's help, she sets out with him to learn what is behind her father's death, encountering much hostility from the locals, who make it clear that Carla's father was not welcome in Angel's Cove.
Like the frosty tropical beverages Harry whips up for his customers, Pedrazas blends the perfect mix of humor and intrigue to take his readers on another memorable and suspenseful adventure.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Harry Rice owns the Sand Bar, a beachfront drinking spot in Florida where Carla Meadows tends bar. Carla's hippie father, Charlie, has been found dead in the sleepy Texas coastal town of Angel's Cove, and Carla has rushed home. Then, sounding weird and scared, she leaves a message on Harry's answering machine, saying that her father's death certificate has him a croaker before her last phone conversation with him. Harry, a goodhearted guy who was once a PI, quickly heads to Angel's Cove to offer help. After the obligatory Floridian environmental riffs, Pedrazas's second novel in the series (after the The Harry Chronicles, winner of the 1995 PWA/St. Martin's Best First Private Eye Novel) finds its groove. Angel's Cove isn't as tranquil a hamlet as it initially appears. A bad cop with a video camera hopes to get on true-crime tabloid TV. A mausoleum business drums up trade with high-tech infomercials and a charismatic saleswoman named Sister Star; sundry disgruntled local fishermen are pissed off at the new net laws. Charlie had a reputation for telling the truth; so did Joe, the police chief, who dies in a manner a lot like Charlie. A nubile, well-read barmaid named Babycakes and a nubile, resourceful newspaperwomen named Gillian Gable are seemly diversions, but neither can overpower the improbably slick patter of the narrating Harry. Pedrazas slumps a little with this sophomore effort.
