The Houseboat Murders

By Paul H. Wagner

Naked corpses are found on a rental houseboat. There s a Hollywood connection, a drug ring connection, a crooked cop among the investigators, and a killer hiding where no one would look. It could be an unsolvable crime until an alcoholic ex-deputy and his son join the hunt and the hunted. Not your garden-variety detective story. Clark Kent, Daily Planet An unpredictable, compelling read for mystery fans. The inclusion of an upscale high school and its denizens provides a fresh and welcome change from the ghettos and drug dens we ve come to expect. Hazings Review Gripping plausible skillfully structured eminently satisfying. Tinseltown Times Take a deceptive killer with a flawless plan, add one guilt-ridden has-been detective, a ruthless drug lord, a cop on the take, and some self-absorbed teenagers. You get a thoroughly entertaining, suspenseful yarn that sucks you in like a shop vac . Stephanie Plump, Criminologist An unusual detective novel blends genres and clich s to create a suspenseful, likeable story. Wagner embeds a Hardy Boys-esque teen mystery within the more complex frame of a seaside mystery a la Carl Hiaasen or John D. MacDonald, but he doesn't fully embrace either genre an unusual literary tactic that works surprisingly well. While The Houseboat Murders could have been a pass , after-school special blown out to Hollywood proportions, the odd turn of events hidden within the straightforward structure rescues it from mediocrity. A for effort, with bonus points for originality -Kirkus Discoveries

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595383408
• ISBN13: 9780595383405
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"