Detective Fiction

Product Description

A serial killer is on the loose in Naples, Florida. The murders have been disguised as accidents, but when police chief Wade Hansen becomes suspicious, mayor Charles Beaumont orders him to apprehend the killer before the truth becomes public knowledge. Hansen reaches out to retired Chicago homicide detective Jack Starkey, who misses the thrill of the hunt and accepts the job. Meanwhile, a Chicago Tribune police reporter has been writing a series of bestselling crime novels based on Starkey's career. Things are not what they seem, plot twists abound, and the bullets begin to fly. Starkey, in desperation, reaches out to his fictional alter-ego to help him catch the killer.

Review

''Retired Chicago homicide detective Jack Starkey, the narrator of this delightfully quirky crime novel from Wells)\, is the model for Jack Stoney, the hero of a series of mystery novels by a Chicago police reporter, Bill Stevens. Starkey, having relocated to Fort Myers Beach, Fla., finds retirement boring and takes an undercover assignment for the local police. The town is dominated by a variety of rich and ultra-rich seniors, and they have begun dying off under questionable circumstances. Starkey's adventures among the Fort Myers horsey set, a cynical blue-collar guy having to pass as a blue blood, are alternately or sometimes simultaneously pointed and hilarious. The book is crammed with fascinating asides on topics ranging from haute cuisine to high-tech weaponry to the sad state of the Chicago Cubs. Beautiful women, expensive automobiles, and fabulous cuisine pop up in scene after scene, sprinkled with alternative moments excerpted from Stevens s latest Jack Stoney novel. Fans of Carl Hiaasen and John D. MacDonald will find a lot to like.'' -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

''Wells has a brisk, breezy style that's just right for this tale, which blurs the line between fiction and (fictive) reality. Prime entertainment.''-- Booklist

''Starkey is a guy's guy, liking cars, shapely women, and ballpark food. He is out of his element in Naples. The case almost takes a backseat to Starkey's humorous commentary. Wells' comic mystery is shouting 'series,' which would be perfectly fine for Carl Hiaasen fans.'' -- Library Journal

'' Detective Fiction is far from the usual fare. Starkey's investigation is methodical, and not nearly as flashy, reflecting the tone of the novel itself. Wells playfully lampoons the detective genre by juxtaposing the archetypal, loose-cannon detective with one who is well-adjusted, patient, and at times, not nearly as exhilarating or effective, it seems. He is clearly shooting for a realistic crime novel. It feels fresh and unexpected.'' -- San Francisco Book Review

About the Author

William Wells graduated from Hamilton College, served aboard a naval destroyer, and has worked as a radio disk jockey, newspaper reporter, author of an internationally syndicated comic strip, speechwriter for the governor of Michigan, and marketing agency executive before founding a custom publishing company.