A new Deal novel is cause for celebration, as fans of Les Standiford's series featuring the Florida contractor know. This time around, Deal's complicated family ties lure him from Miami to Key West to bid on a huge project being developed by entrepreneur Franklin Stone, an old friend of his father's. It's always a good idea to get a series hero away from his usual haunts, even if the Keys aren't that far from Florida's gold coast; the geography of the setting is key to this somewhat run-of-the-mill tale of buried treasure, vintage wine, and murder. What makes this mystery worthwhile isn't the plot, it's the people; instead of Vernon Driscoll, Deal's usual sidekick, Standiford gives us Russell Straight, and instead of Janice, Deal's estranged wife, the author sets up Annie Dodds, Deal's college girlfriend, as his love interest; it's the author's skill at characterization that renders them real rather than stereotypical, multifaceted rather than one-dimensional. Not the best of the series, but still well worth reading. --Jane Adams
From Publishers Weekly
Among mystery buffs, John D. MacDonald may be the poet laureate of South Florida, but now Standiford whose work has been praised by Elmore Leonard and Stephen King, among others bids fair to be MacDonald's heir apparent. (Travis McGee fans will note John Deal's resemblance to MacDonald's "salvage consultant," and Standiford, like MacDonald, excels at depicting violence.) The novel takes its cue from John Hersey's hymn to Key West ("Many of the citizens are well acquainted with mischief, but at a cost"). The story begins in 1931 with a storm passing through the Florida straits; there's a devastating explosion aboard a freighter, The Magdalena, and then oblivion. Many years later, John Deal, who inherited the Dealco Construction firm from his late father, is visiting Key West to discuss a building project. He steps in to help a black youth, Dequarius Noyes, from being harassed by a deputy. Soon afterward, Noyes turns up in Deal's hotel room dead. In the kid's hand is the label from a bottle of rare wine, vintage 1929, worth thousands of dollars. There's more, much more, including buried treasure, an old girlfriend who reappears out of nowhere and, of course, murder. The labyrinthine plot, involving a case of rare wine worth $100,000, will delight oenophiles. Thriller buffs in general and readers of South Florida mysteries in particular should find this one well up to Standiford's standard.
From Booklist
What better character to witness the depravities of human greed than a real-estate developer? John Deal, hero in eight previous Standiford mysteries, owns a Florida construction company and travels around the state to develop projects, all the while coming up against the powerful and the desperate. Standiford adds a nice John D. MacDonald touch by placing much of the action within sight and sound of the surf. This time out, Deal travels to Key West to talk over a prospective project. He finds trouble, of course, first in a bar, where the smoky-voiced singer turns out to be the unresolved love of his life. He next finds trouble on the side of the road, where he witnesses cops beating up a black kid. Both chanteuse and youth are tied in with the real-estate developer. Deal finds these ties lead to murder and a 60-year-old secret cache buried in the Keys. Taut suspense and great atmosphere add up to the real deal. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Bone Key FROM THE PUBLISHER
A hustler is beaten by a cop. Two days later he's found slain. The cops claim ignorance. All John Deal has to go on are the rumors of the man's connection to a 70-year-old tale of piracy, murder, and greed.
Author Biography:
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Among mystery buffs, John D. MacDonald may be the poet laureate of South Florida, but now Standiford whose work has been praised by Elmore Leonard and Stephen King, among others bids fair to be MacDonald's heir apparent. (Travis McGee fans will note John Deal's resemblance to MacDonald's "salvage consultant," and Standiford, like MacDonald, excels at depicting violence.) The novel takes its cue from John Hersey's hymn to Key West ("Many of the citizens are well acquainted with mischief, but at a cost"). The story begins in 1931 with a storm passing through the Florida straits; there's a devastating explosion aboard a freighter, The Magdalena, and then oblivion. Many years later, John Deal, who inherited the Dealco Construction firm from his late father, is visiting Key West to discuss a building project. He steps in to help a black youth, Dequarius Noyes, from being harassed by a deputy. Soon afterward, Noyes turns up in Deal's hotel room dead. In the kid's hand is the label from a bottle of rare wine, vintage 1929, worth thousands of dollars. There's more, much more, including buried treasure, an old girlfriend who reappears out of nowhere and, of course, murder. The labyrinthine plot, involving a case of rare wine worth $100,000, will delight oenophiles. Thriller buffs in general and readers of South Florida mysteries in particular should find this one well up to Standiford's standard. (Apr. 15) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
From Miami, home base of his Dealco Construction Co., John Deal shuffles over to Key West on a business trip. Despite an energy level at less than the max we're used to (Deal with the Dead, 2001, etc.), he's got prospects, since the potential client is wildly successful entrepreneur Franklin Stone, the old friend of John's late dad who owns sizable chunks of the city. Stone seems well-disposed, but he's as shifty and shadowy as Gatsby, with interests shady enough to scare the prudent man Deal likes to think he is. One Stone venture involves some extravagantly valuable stolen wine, the delectable fruit of a legendary vintage. Another of his interests, apparently unrelated, is elegant, enigmatic Annie Dodds, Deal's own erstwhile sweetheart. They knew each other in high school, were passionately in love, flamed out, and vanished from each other's lives. While he's still puzzling over whether Annie has gone from Deal's lost lady to Stone's kept woman, a young con man tries to deal Deal in on a dangerously lucrative secret connected to the stolen wine and is murdered in the attempt. Is his killing also connected to Annie's complex and secretive relationship with Stone? And why, suddenly, are all manner of aspiring wine-heisters beating up on Deal, who'd rather have a cold one than a red one any day? A mixed Deal whose likable hero almost salvages the by-the-numbers plotting.
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