Get Three Bestsellers for the Price of One Backwater BayWhen a body is found floating in the mangroves of Biscayne National Park, Special Agent Kurt Hunter has his first real case. He’s not looking for the spotlight or notoriety—he’s had both with disastrous results. But that seems unavoidable as the trail leads him to South Beach and his introduction to the culture there is anything but … there is anything but comfortable.
In the National Parks Service’s version of the witness protection program, Kurt quickly finds out that the pristine waters surrounding Miami are very different from the National Forest he transferred from. Follow Kurt through this new world as he unearths a crooked families greed to solve the case.
Backwater Channel
That’s what special agent Kurt Hunter thought until, while out fishing, he witnesses a murder at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant. After being assigned the case, Kurt is pulled into the convoluted politics of Miami only to find out that the embattled power plant is only a pawn in a more deadly game.
Greed and corruption are nothing new to pristine Biscayne Bay. With the plant’s miles of cooling canals providing essential habitat for several endangered species, Kurt is thrown into a rift between warring environmentalists and power-hungry corporate executives all trying to advance their own agendas.
Backwater Cove
When National Parks Service special agent Kurt Hunter finds a woman washed up on his remote island in Biscayne National Park the case leads him to the world of high rolling boosters and the young players who will do anything to make their mark.
With millions on the line in the world of college football, recruiting the top players is crucial. Money and women are often used to lure the top high school prospects to schools. With big penalties for getting caught, boosters will do anything—even kill—to cover their tracks and keep their alma maters on top.
more
Vice in the Keys
I’ve enjoyed reading these as they came out, waiting less than patiently for the next adventure. But you don’t have to wait–you can enjoy three stories in quick succession!
~~~
Backwater Bay–Good, Solid Adventure Story
This is the start to a new series but a spinoff of the Mac Travis stories and an excellent followup to Kurt Hunter’s introduction in “Wood’s Betrayal.” A good, solid adventure story with lots of action, a little romance, and an interesting finale.
~~~
Backwater Channel–Miami Vice meets Hawaii 5-0
Our hero is somewhat socially challenged but has definite survival skills and is quite good at his job. Turns out he is also quite an able investigator as he keeps getting snarled up in issues–like dead bodies–that shouldn’t be but keep falling into his jurisdiction. He has an interesting time with live bodies, too despite his shortcomings (see initial premise). You’ll have your own fun as you delve into the story. Of course, if you’ve read the earlier Kurt Hunter books you’ll have more details on the earlier events which pertain, but they are more than adequately explained within this novel, letting it stand alone quite nicely. I really see this as a TV series rather than a movie franchise (Miami Vice meets Hawaii 5-0?)–there is plenty of action and adventure and gorgeous scenery with intriguing plot and likable characters.
~~~
Backwater Cove–Action!
Author Steven Becker has created his own universe within Florida’s Keys which periodically ranges outward to Baja California, further west to Hawaii, or toward Europe and the Near East, but mostly stays within the ambit of Miami to Key West. His core characters have each been given their own series but wander in and out of each other’s paths as their skills and talents dictate. Thus for one who has read a story or two in any of the series, each new novel is like returning home and being welcomed by old friends.
That’s not to say each doesn’t stand alone. Where necessary for overlapping scenarios, background is deftly inserted to bring you up to speed as you plunge into the adventure. For Kurt Hunter, a Special Agent with the National Park Service, poaching would be about as big a crime as he might anticipate as he assists tourists (and in the Keys, that largely includes boaters). But darned if he doesn’t keep finding bodies! Given the longstanding history of smuggling, piracy, rum-running and other nefarious activities such as drug importing and making, we really shouldn’t be surprised; and the somewhat bumbling Kurt has a sharp mind and broadening network of friends to assist in solving the crimes.
Each book is better than the last and extremely entertaining; I am looking forward to the next in the series. But wait, you are saying, what about *this* plot? Well, the plot is skillful and if you like deducing whodunnit from the clues, they are there. College football and alumni interference play their parts, and the interagency interactions among overlapping jurisdictions are critical. The blurb sets up the story for you so you don’t need me to repeat it. But what you do need to do is fasten your seatbelt because the well-paced action frequently takes off at full throttle.