Jim Weir is a
former detective in the Newport Beach police department and after several years
on the force turned to deep sea treasure hunting for some adventure. His first expedition is more adventure than
he’d bargained for and he ends up in a Mexican jail. After his release Jim is welcomed home like
the prodigal son by his mother, his sister Ann, Ann’s husband, Ray who is also
his best friend and a Newport cop, and Becky, his ex-girlfriend. Their joyous reunion is short lived because
on the night of Jim’s return, Ann is brutally murdered. Her body washes ashore with multiple stab
wounds indicating a violent, passionate attack.
The Newport police investigation uncovers one witness, a homeless guy
who saw a squad car leaving the crime scene about the time of the murder. The police chief chooses not to implicate his
own officers and asks Weir to conduct his own covert investigation.
Jim’s
investigation leads him to places he’d rather not go. Seems his sister had a dark private side
beginning with an affair as a teenager with David Cantrell, a wealthy local
businessman. Ann became pregnant and her
parents arranged a secret birth and adoption far away from Newport Beach. Since that time Ann’s mother and Becky have joined
forces to become political enemies of Cantrell with opposing views on
environmental and real estate development issues involving Newport Beach and
the Balboa Peninsula. Though Ann loved
her husband Ray, she had become restless of late. She started secretly seeing Cantrell again
and was paranoid someone was watching her.
So Jim unearths his family’s unpleasant past and must cope with that
while mourning the death of his sister.
Meanwhile the killer watches his every move.
T. Jefferson
Parker was in my power rotation throughout the nineties before I knew what a
power rotation was. I was captivated by Pacific Beat, Laguna Heat, and Summer of
Fear and was always searching for more in this genre. Somewhere in the early 2000’s however,
Parker’s work crossed a line for me. His
plots grew darker, more violent, and sometimes delved into pure evil. I just
didn’t enjoy reading his stuff anymore.
But these earlier works are worth a look. They hold their own against the likes of
Michael Connelly and Jonathan Kellerman, two long-term members of my power
rotation.
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