The Green-Eyed Hurricane (Beeler Large Print Series)

Readers of Martin Hegwood's first novel, Big Easy Backroad, already know that private eye Jack Delmas is a hard-drinking, hotheaded, chivalrous Dixie boy to the core--a kindred spirit to James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux. Delmas is back in The Green-Eyed Hurricane, tussling with the politicos of his hometown, Point Cadet, Mississippi. Point Cadet is no hedonist's Big Easy--it's a small town struggling to adapt to the rigors of a changing economy. This is the working man's Gulf Coast--no bougainvillea and bananas Foster here, but the acrid smell of barge diesel and the salty tang of sweat and freshly netted shrimp.

Delmas has known Casper Perinovich (Mr. Cass) all his life. The old Croatian shrimper lives in a shabby, waterfront house with an enormous dog to keep away the real estate agents and the Vietnamese gang members who plague the neighborhood. The gangs want excitement and a little shakedown money; the real estate agents want land. Progress is coming to Point Cadet, and it's coming in the form of glitzy, greedy casinos. Waterfront property is at a premium, but Mr. Cass, a vocal opponent to development, would rather die than sell out. Unfortunately, that's just what he does when he flips a light switch and his house explodes. His niece, Sheila, isn't convinced the explosion was an accident and hires Delmas to investigate. Delmas knows it's arson, but the official investigation is being stonewalled by the police department, led by Mayor Bernie Pettus. It seems that a certain antagonism between Mr. Cass and Pettus goes back to the days of Hurricane Camille, an epic storm that killed Mr. Cass's wife and son. But unraveling the past, pulling strings, and calling in favors only land the private eye in a tangle of political and business alliances--not to mention the Vietnamese gangs, who are out for blood.

If you can't actually get to the Gulf, I recommend purchasing a pound of peeled shrimp, whipping up a hotter-than-Hades cocktail sauce, pouring a glass of sweet lemon tea, and diving into The Green-Eyed Hurricane. As hurricanes are wont to do, the book will pick you up, toss you around, and leave you shaken--and invigorated. --Kelly Flynn