Back Bay Blue

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Published by: Kensington
Release Date: September 29, 2020
Pages: 272
ISBN13: 978-1496723420

 
Synopsis

Theft, greed, and corruption collide in Peter Colt's hard-edged mystery featuring Vietnam veteran turned Boston P.I. Andy Roark.

1985, Boston. In Vietnam, Andy Roark witnessed death and horrifying destruction. But for the soldiers who made it back alive, there are other casualties of war--the loss of tenderness, trust, and connection. Still feeling adrift, Andy has struck up a welcome friendship with Nguyen, a Vietnamese restaurant owner. Sipping beer and trading memories after the restaurant shutters, Andy gradually learns of the extraordinary lengths Nguyen took to flee Saigon shortly after its fall.

Andy's latest case, too, has ties to Vietnam. His new client, a young Vietnamese woman, hires him to investigate her uncle's murder. Andy discovers a connection to a group of refugees determined to overthrow the communist government--and extorting local business owners to raise funds. The search for more answers takes Andy to D.C. and San Francisco, and into a web of political and personal betrayal. For near the heart of this mystery is a link to Nguyen's daring escape. Decades have passed, but sometimes the price of freedom twists allies into enemies, loyalties into betrayals, and truth into lies...

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Praise

“A classical mystery with an honor-bound detective and a keen sense of place… Besides having the P.I.
spiel and the P.I. moves down pat, Roark is genuinely likable (not too tough, but not a patsy) and very much a character of his time.”
– The New York Times Book Review

“As Andy becomes more and more drawn into the case, he demonstrates to both himself and the reader that although you can take the man out of Vietnam, you cannot take Vietnam out of the man.”
–Bookpage

“Colt makes his wounded lead sympathetic and balances a gripping plot with further development of Roark’s character. Jeremiah Healy fans looking for a new Beantown hero will be eager for more.”
–Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

“Roark’s skill at his job is displayed amid a gift for self-conscious mockery, as though he knows he’s a character in a novel. He models his mustache after Magnum’s, totes a gun like Bond’s, dresses spiffy like Spenser, but wonders if gun oil will stain his pretty blue shirt. Further, he offers a rare portrait of a type anyone who’s been in the military will recognize… There’s plenty of room for detection and a blood-soaked finale, but it’s these tidbits that linger.”
–Booklist

“The second installment of Colt’s 1980s-set series will lure fans of Robert Parker’s Spenser into the atmospheric Boston setting. A tight plot, great characterization, and sensitive topics make this a good addition to library collections.”
– Library Journal

Excerpt


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