Collateral Damage: A Matt Royal Mystery

Griffin’s sixth mystery featuring Florida lawyer Matt Royal (after 2010’s Bitter Legacy) draws the reader in instantly by making clear that newlywed Jim Desmond, who’s staying with his bride at the Hilton in Longboat Key, isn’t long for this world. Sure enough, a sniper shoots Desmond while the honeymooner is jogging on the beach, the first in a series of mysterious killings. Desmond’s father, Charles, an old Vietnam War buddy of Royal’s, asks Royal to investigate his son’s murder. The older Desmond aims to turn up some leads by filing a civil suit, though without a defendant, the strategy appears doomed from the outset. Royal tries to use his close, and increasingly closer, relationship with Longboat Key’s lone (female) police detective, J.D. Duncan, to advance the probe. While the ending pulls some punches, the relatively sophisticated plotting makes this one of the better series entries. (Dec.)