"Great addition to this compelling mystery series."

Smitty Bars & Eats is a great place to play pool, get a bite and to work as a bouncer. Terry Saltz is mighty thankful to have a place to do all three. Not many are willing to give an ex-con a chance to make a better life, and make a better life Terry has. He may work in a bar, but he hasn't touched a drop. It was the liquor that got him a nice little cot in jail because the last time he got so drunk, he busted up a few chairs, some tables and a few people as well. So there's Smitty's, his daytime job as a carpenter and his trailer mates to make life worthwhile. Oh and that mystery woman he's in love with who has been traveling the world.

Coincidences happen all the time. When a female's screams rouse the carpentry crew from a house they're remodeling, Terry finds a girl screaming over a dead body in a car. The dead woman turns out to be Gwen, who played pool against them the night before. Terry believes there's something more at stake - something criminal. Especially when Ernie, an affluent friend of the crew, has just died in a car accident. While paying their respects to the widow and Ernie's son, it seems they are all too busy planning a nice little get away on a beach at a tropic resort. With steadfast determination, Terry and his mates begin to investigate - albeit quietly because Detective Alan Bushell isn't too happy with them. Not because he suspects them of foul play, but because Terry has this annoying habit of sticking his nose in his cases and solving them. Something apparently connects the deaths of Ernie and Gwen, and Terry finds himself face to face with his long-lost brother as the lead suspect. Terry's going to have to do some fast fact finding, if he's going to keep his game going.

L.T. Fawkes has created the working man's sleuth. His characters are gritty, real and loyal to a fault. Terry shines as you see him deal with his inner demons in a frank manner, while doing his best to get the job done, be it carpentry, pool or sleuthing. The mystery compels the reader on its own, but the urge to devour the pages happens more because the characters are compelling. There is a fascination with how they interact with one another and their surroundings. You find yourself cheering them on and wishing you could hang out at Smitty's for the fun and the camaraderie.

Reviewed by Anne Barringer
Posted August 16, 2004

Summary

Terry Saltz is doing a decent job of getting his life back together. He's got an awesome double-wide trailer, and a sweet carpentry business in the making. But trouble seems to follow him everywhere—like that woman in the bar pool league who turned up dead. Must be time to solve another murder.