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Dan, a wise-cracking excessive drinker, is haunted by the memory of his dead wife. Shortly after the two won the lottery and purchased a small beach bungalow in the Florida Keys, her life was taken in a car accident. Soon after his wife's death, Dan relocated to the Keys with his wife's dog, whom he blames for her death. In Sleeping Dogs Lie, Dan Coast, an unlicensed private detective of sorts, is hired to find the missing boyfriend of a woman who herself soon ends up missing.
North Murder Beach is the first installment of the story of North Myrtle Beach police detective, Jake Stellar. The spring bike rallies have ended, the spring breakers have all gone back to school, and the summer tourist season is a few weeks away. What better time for a police officer to take a nice quiet relaxing week off from work? That's what Jake Stellar had in mind. That is until someone from his past resurfaces to remind him of a terrible secret he has spent years trying to forget.
Lt. Maggie Redmond is called to a crime scene on St. George Island, where she is met with the body of Gregory Boudreaux. The medical examiner calls it a suicide, but no one knows that Maggie has a horrible connection to the dead man. When Gregory's uncle, Bennett Boudreaux, the richest and scariest man in town, takes a sudden interest in Maggie, people start to wonder, Maggie included. Maggie knows he may suspect her of killing his nephew, but she finds herself slowly drawn to the man.
When his father disappears in a freak boating accident, something smells fishy to ex-marine Billy Ryder. Now, after two decades away, Billy has come back to Pleasantville, Florida, a town whose surf is only rivaled by its share of sun. Only Pleasantville isn't how he remembers it. A local gang has taken over the small fishing village and has scared the locals into submission, and worse, they just may have killed his dad for trying to stop them.
Policy changes can have unintended consequences - and they can be deadly. It's easy to stay invisible in the Florida Keys, and Mac Travis is doing his best, when a simple fishing trip to the Marquesa Keys lands him in the middle of a deadly plot. When a ruthless shipping magnate returns to his roots and exploits the new Cuban immigration policy, Mac and Trufante are pulled into a life and death struggle, not only for themselves, but those they love.
Jack Nolan had his life all mapped out as he pursued a promising career as an attorney in Michigan. Suddenly his world was knocked out of orbit and he found himself living with his Uncle Mickey above Mickey's bar in South Florida. Mickey's untimely death leads to Jack becoming a bar owner. Jack's protective approach to his life includes staying emotionally uninvolved with everyone around him, those who work at the bar, customers, and the objects of his frequent one-night stands.
Dan, a wise-cracking excessive drinker, is haunted by the memory of his dead wife. Shortly after the two won the lottery and purchased a small beach bungalow in the Florida Keys, her life was taken in a car accident. Soon after his wife's death, Dan relocated to the Keys with his wife's dog, whom he blames for her death. In Sleeping Dogs Lie, Dan Coast, an unlicensed private detective of sorts, is hired to find the missing boyfriend of a woman who herself soon ends up missing.
North Murder Beach is the first installment of the story of North Myrtle Beach police detective, Jake Stellar. The spring bike rallies have ended, the spring breakers have all gone back to school, and the summer tourist season is a few weeks away. What better time for a police officer to take a nice quiet relaxing week off from work? That's what Jake Stellar had in mind. That is until someone from his past resurfaces to remind him of a terrible secret he has spent years trying to forget.
Lt. Maggie Redmond is called to a crime scene on St. George Island, where she is met with the body of Gregory Boudreaux. The medical examiner calls it a suicide, but no one knows that Maggie has a horrible connection to the dead man. When Gregory's uncle, Bennett Boudreaux, the richest and scariest man in town, takes a sudden interest in Maggie, people start to wonder, Maggie included. Maggie knows he may suspect her of killing his nephew, but she finds herself slowly drawn to the man.
When his father disappears in a freak boating accident, something smells fishy to ex-marine Billy Ryder. Now, after two decades away, Billy has come back to Pleasantville, Florida, a town whose surf is only rivaled by its share of sun. Only Pleasantville isn't how he remembers it. A local gang has taken over the small fishing village and has scared the locals into submission, and worse, they just may have killed his dad for trying to stop them.
Policy changes can have unintended consequences - and they can be deadly. It's easy to stay invisible in the Florida Keys, and Mac Travis is doing his best, when a simple fishing trip to the Marquesa Keys lands him in the middle of a deadly plot. When a ruthless shipping magnate returns to his roots and exploits the new Cuban immigration policy, Mac and Trufante are pulled into a life and death struggle, not only for themselves, but those they love.
Jack Nolan had his life all mapped out as he pursued a promising career as an attorney in Michigan. Suddenly his world was knocked out of orbit and he found himself living with his Uncle Mickey above Mickey's bar in South Florida. Mickey's untimely death leads to Jack becoming a bar owner. Jack's protective approach to his life includes staying emotionally uninvolved with everyone around him, those who work at the bar, customers, and the objects of his frequent one-night stands.
Dan Coast is all set to spend Christmas just the same way he has every year for the past few years: alone and drunk. But when uninvited, unexpected guests arrive and throw a wrench into his holiday plans he is forced to sober up (slightly) and throw on a smile. Just when it seems nothing else could go wrong, a close friend is injured in what appears, to the police, to be a drug deal gone bad. Dan Coast and his sidekick, Red, jump into action to find the truth while their friend lays unconscious in the hospital.
4.50
While I am getting tired of alcoholic PIs and normally steer clear of all of the PI novels taking place in and around the beaches of Florida, I was in a Christmas-y mood and picked this up.
The third book in the series, it stood on its own and was pleasant enough of a good listen. The narrator, whom I had never listened to before, did a fabulous job and it’s disheartening a search shows he does not take on many projects.
The light, cozy?, mystery involved several very defining characters, who each were not fully fleshed out, yet had more ingredients than a gingerbread man cookie.
I really liked Dan Coast and his side kick, Red, brought humour and fun bickering. Dan’s parents were interesting enough, and I would love if they visited more often!
There was an inconsistency ( I think ) about the placement of his gun at one point. I thought he had given it to a neighbor during a domestic scuffle (small sub plot that was very humanistic) only to pull it out of his glove box, without any indication he had seen her to retrieve it.
I really liked Coasts of Christmas Past, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series; simply because the genre isn’t among my usual searches.
Overall, this book was definitely worth my time and I may pick up another audible from this author in the future.