Hour of the Manatee

Winner of the 1992 Best First Private Eye Novel

Anthony Lowell carries neither gun nor badge, doesn't own a briefcase, and prefers sandals to suits. A dropout from a once-stellar career as a news photographer, a retired photographer now restoring boats, he's also a freelance, licensed private eye who's the best detective on the Gulf Coast of Florida. In spite of his pacifist nature, Lowell isn't afraid to venture where he's not wanted—in this case directly into the path of a raging political hurricane.

Maureen Fitzgerald, Lowell's latest client, is murdered right in front of him, before she can even finish telling him about her problem. When the police arrive, Detective Lena Bedrosian is disgusted to find Lowell at the scene since he represents everything she detests. The hard-working, perfectly groomed, by-the-book officer hopes to be rid of Lowell, but the case throws them together.

When Maureen's murder begins to cast a shadow of doubt on a Florida judge aiming to move up the political ladder, the situation develops a whole new dimension. Taking on the judge and his chief Senate sponsor in a power struggle that doesn't flinch at murder, Lowell and Lena light a fuse that will burn its way clear north to Washington D.C.