Wyatt's
Revenge
A
Matt Royal Mystery
H.
Terrell Griffin
Oceanview
Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-933515-53-8 (1933515538)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-53-3 (9781933515533)
Publication Date: November 2009
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): On balance, retired trial lawyer turned-beach bum Matt
Royal is a pretty laid-back fellow. But when Laurence Wyatt, one of
Matt's best friends, is murdered, Matt trades in his easygoing ways for
a hard-hitting quest for revenge.
Matt knows the Longboat Key police will do their job in investigating.
But for Matt, finding Wyatt's killer isn't a job; it's personal.
Determined to do whatever it takes to solve Wyatt's murder, Matt takes
matters into his own hands and embarks on a clandestine investigation.
Soon, Matt finds himself in hot pursuit of a cadre of remorseless
criminals and trained killers, but the tables turn and Matt becomes the
pursued. Faced with mounting danger, Matt calls for backup from his
buddies Jock Algren and Logan Hamilton.
Matt Royal would go to the ends of the earth to exact revenge for
Wyatt's murder, but will he go outside the law?
Expect the unexpected in this wild and dangerous ride from Longboat
Key, Florida, to Frankfurt, Germany, because hell hath no fury like
Matt Royal scorned.
Review:
When retired attorney Matt Royal's friend Laurence Wyatt is murdered in
his home, execution-style, Matt wants some answers, and goes about
getting them in his own inimitable way in Wyatt's Revenge
the fourth mystery in this series by H. Terrell Griffin.
Wyatt was a history professor at a local university, and enjoyed a
quiet life. But Matt soon links his friend's murder to that of another
historian, with whom Wyatt had been corresponding. The common thread
between the two is an inquiry about the Vichy Regime, the government in
France during the German occupation of World War II. Matt sets off for
Germany to learn more -- with his own inquiries putting a target
squarely on his back by an unknown group of men who would rather this
particular chapter in history remain unread.
Wyatt's
Revenge is, for the most
part, a rousing adventure, filled with international intrigue and feats
of derring-do. But it is probably best enjoyed if one is willing to
overlook some questionable aspects of the plot. Like why no one, not
even Matt's friend the police chief, seems overly concerned by the
trail of bodies left in Matt's wake, most at his hand, and numbering
well into the double digits -- all justified deaths, to be sure, but
covered up nonetheless. Or why official government aircraft can be
unquestionably used for several trans-Atlantic crossings on missions
that are purely personal in nature, but Matt and his buddies have to
use public transport within the US to mask their identities. And so on
... and on. None of these issues really detract from the story in any
meaningful way, but one wonders if some of the more obvious ones
couldn't have been addressed in a more clever manner.
And it must be said that Wyatt's
Revenge
is truly a guy's thriller, replete with multiple passages on male
bonding and friendship, and why men risk their lives for each other,
expecting nothing more than a handshake in thanks in return, and maybe
not even that. The only female in the book is frequently called the
"pretty lady", and apparently the criminal pursuit of wealth and power
is not an equal opportunity activity; all the bad guys are, in fact,
guys. On the plus side, it keeps Matt from having to kill a women; it's
unclear how he would handle himself in that situation.
Special thanks to Oceanview Publishing for providing a copy of Wyatt's Revenge for this review.
Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Wyatt's Revenge? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Longboat
Blues
Tangerine Press (Hardcover), November 2005
ISBN-10: 0-9774047-0-6 (0977404706)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9774047-0-4 (9780977404704)
Murder
Key
Tangerine Press (Hardcover), November 2006
ISBN-10: 0-9774047-1-4 (0977404714)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9774047-1-1 (9780977404711)
Blood Island
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover), December 2008
ISBN-10: 1-933515-21-X (193351521X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-21-2 (9781933515212)
Wyatt's Revenge
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover), November 2009
ISBN-10: 1-933515-53-8 (1933515538)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-53-3 (9781933515533)
Omnimystery
keywords for Wyatt's Revenge
...
Location(s) referenced: Tampa,
Florida, Frankfurt, Germany, Boston,
Massachusetts.
