Wink of an Eye

The real-life town of Wink, Tex., provides the setting for Willis’s promising debut, winner of the Minotaur/PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Competition. PI Gypsy Moran, on the run from some trouble in Las Vegas, returns home to Wink, where 12-year-old Tatum McCallen asks him to look into the supposed suicide of his father, Ryce, a deputy with the Winkler County Sheriff’s Department. Gypsy is reluctant to pursue the matter, until he learns more about Ryce’s death—and of the earlier nonfatal shooting of Tatum’s grandfather, retired deputy Burke McCallen, as well as the uninvestigated disappearance of eight girls, all children of illegal immigrants. Gypsy’s old flame Claire Kinley lends a hand, as does stunning and ambitious reporter Sophia Ortez. Gypsy suspects a couple of deputies are involved in the crimes, but can’t tell whether Sheriff Gaylord Denny is involved or just incompetent. Readers will want to see more of Gypsy, a nice combination of brains, brawn, and bravery. (Nov.)