Saturday, November 24, 2018

Ten top crime novels and mysteries at the seashore

CrimeReads senior editor Dwyer Murphy tagged ten oceanfront crime stories and mysteries. One title on the list:
Elmore Leonard, LaBrava

LaBrava is South Beach in the final days of its seedy, crime-soaked 80s fame. The action moves from the hotel lobby to the beach to the diner and back again. It’s Newark by the Sea, Leonard’s forte. The usual trappings are there, too: chatty hustlers, washed-out law enforcement and aging gangsters, all caught in a maelstrom of fraud and murder, all told in Leonard’s signature style: a series of cool, wickedly clever dialogues and tightly packed scenes. The plot—a former secret service man tries to help an aging starlet out of a blackmail scam—is almost beside the point. The goal here is just to let the depravity and the ocean breeze wash over you.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue