Synopsis (from
the publisher):
There’s been a shooting,
and my friends were involved.
The words ricocheted through Ledge Trabue’s head as he read and
re-read the shocking message sent from Nashville. How … and more
importantly … why … had this tragedy happened? It simply
made no sense.
Plucked from Florida by a DEA helicopter, Trabue and Professor Albert
Bryan are whisked to a horrific crime scene near Nashville where they
must begin unraveling what really happened while coping with their
grief. Gradually, as they piece the puzzling bits of evidence together,
they realize that the incredible evil of the Hart-Fellows empire that
they exposed and destroyed two years before has somehow found new life
and is now, impossibly, hiding in plain sight.
— ◊ —
— ◊ —
Shaved Ice
A Ledge
Trabue Mystery
Del
Staecker
Cable Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-934980-12-9 (1934980129)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934980-12-5 (9781934980125)
Publication Date: August 2008
List Price: $24.95
— ◊ —
Review: Ledge
Trabue and is best friend Albert Bryan investigate the senseless
murders of their friends in Shaved
Ice, the second mystery in this series by Del Staecker.
Ledge and Al are surfing the pre-hurricane waves off Vero Beach Florida
when they receive an urgent message saying only "Reggie shot. Win dead.
Please come!" Picked up by a DEA helicopter, they are transported to
Ft. Campbell, the site of the crime scene. Reggie and Win had been
fishing and were unarmed. Were they the targets of the killers, and if
so, why? Reggie was a retired cab driver and Win owned a sporting good
shop; both were good family men. And what so interested the Drug
Enforcement Agency that it sent a helicopter to Florida to pick up
Ledge and Al?
Ledge and Al meet and get assistance from Homeland Security Special
Agent Barry Reeves and Carole Weathers, a local TV reporter. In most
investigations it usually pays to look to where the money is. Here they
find the Community Foundation, set up by the powerful Fellows family,
and run by the firm of Johnson, Dupree and Comstock. The investigation
turns up another, unexpected name associated with the firm: Crazy White
Boy Donny. Donny is a dealer in shaved ice, the newest, strongest and
most lethal form of methamphetamine. His gang connections receive and
distribute the illegal drug, and also eliminate anyone who tries to
interfere. But there seems to be a “leader” missing. No one
they have met and/or interrogated seems to have the brains or know how
to amass the vast resources required to manage this operation. It
appears Ledge and Al are chasing a ghost.
From its opening scenes of waves crashing along the shore, the
relentless pace of Shaved Ice
continues to accelerate to its pulse-pounding conclusion. The
characters, narrative, and suspenseful plotline are all well executed,
the result thoroughly enjoyable. If there's a downside here it's in the
explicit, and largely unnecessary, details of the crime scenes. The
story is strong enough that it doesn't need this added dose of realism.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Shaved Ice and to Del Staecker for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Shaved Ice? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
The Muted Mermaid
Cable Publishing (Hardcover), February 2008
ISBN-10: 0-9799494-6-7 (0979949467)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9799494-6-3 (9780979949463)
Shaved Ice
Cable Publishing (Hardcover), August 2008
ISBN-10: 1-934980-12-9 (1934980129)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934980-12-5 (9781934980125)
Omnimystery keywords for Shaved Ice ...
Location(s) referenced: Nashville, Tennessee.
