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- Mystery - |
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Dead Man's Bay |
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 Dead Man's Bay byDarryl Wimberley St. Martin's Press 246 pages, July 2000 ISBN 0312252188 Reviewed by Lisa Eagleson-Roever NOTE: the manuscript reviewed was an Advance Reviewer's Copy (ARC). Changes may be made to the manuscript before publication. Dead Man's Bay is probably the first ARC I've read that I would loan to someone as is. True, there are a couple of things that may need correcting (and that's what ARC's are for); but these are so minor and the remainder is so likable that they are not distracting enough to keep me from loaning the book while marked as an ARC. Barrett Raines is an investigator for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He has an empty life and a diminishing soul. He's so caught up in his own misery that at first you can't imagine why he should be the main character. You might ask yourself, "This guy's going to solve a case? Not likely." The author saw that one, too. And that's exactly why Barrett's Chief separates him from his partner, Cricket Bonet, and demotes him to a desk job - in the Records Division. Can Barrett feel any more insulted? Yes. The Chief makes him relinquish his pistol. As further punishment, Barrett is sent to follow up on a gruesome murder that doesn't look like it can be solved. He reluctantly sets off to the remote, Gulf Coast-side Dead Man's Bay, as certain as his Chief that he will find nothing. On the other hand, he'll do anything to get out of the Records Division office and a goose chase is as good a diversion as any other. Once Barrett stumbles onto Dead Man's Bay however, he meets a small community with plenty of life and soul to share - and just as much to hide. His curiosity piqued, his depression slowly lifts and he begins to remember how to act like the investigator he once was. The folks of Dead Man's Bay aren't easy fish to hook and they have the home-bay advantage. With little to do but wait to see who will reveal something useful, Barrett goes native. It's not the method he was taught to use around potential witnesses or suspects, but with the wily and self-sufficient folks of Dead Man's Bay, it's the most effective way - and the most deadly. The money trail Barrett is trying to uncover is also being followed by the murderer. Both discover that it ends at Dead Man's Bay. The author's voice is strong and colorful. I thought I knew southernisms, but Darryl Wimberley introduced me to a whole new vocabulary. Part of the fun was finding new words and trying to figure out what they meant in context. The main characters are well-defined and likeable, even when they are disagreeable. The villain is as chilling as you can get without becoming farce. The dialogue is smooth. Dead Man's Bay is a most enjoyable mystery. |
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