Hot: A Fred Carver Mystery

In this latest Fred Carver mystery, Lutz ( Kiss ; Tropical Heat ) sets his aging knight errant from Orlando, Fla., against younger villains on the nowhere fringes of the Florida Keys. Crusty old Henry Tiller--an ex-cop from Milwaukee living on tiny Key Montaigne--suspects that his wealthy retired neighbor, Walter Rainer, is a drug dealer responsible for the death of a 13-year-old runaway. Brushed off by local cops, Tiller hires Carver to investigate. Carver knows more is involved than just an old man's active imagination when Tiller is hit by a car; later, his own car is followed to Key Montaigne and he receives a death threat. After Tiller dies from his injuries, Carver brings in his live-in lover Beth, ex-wife of a drug kingpin and a martial arts expert. Obsessed with nailing Rainer, Carver and Beth ignore warnings to keep constant watch on the Rainer household. While Lutz creates terrific characters in this concise, crisply told escapade, the surveillance of the bad guys drones on, and when the true nature of Rainer's criminal activity is unmasked, the payoff doesn't seem to warrant the buildup. Despite these lapses, Carver remains one of the genre's most credible protagonists. (Jan.)