Forever's Just Pretend: A Hector Lassiter Novel

Set in 1925, Edgar-finalist McDonald's entertaining fifth Hector Lassiter novel (after 2011's One True Sentence) takes the crime writer and reluctant sleuth, who's following his love, Brinke Devlin, to Key West, Fla., where rapacious developers have turned to arson and murder to advance their aims. Key West isn't much of a tourist place%E2%80%94yet%E2%80%94but with suspicious fires clearing large tracts of mostly wooden buildings, that situation is changing rapidly. Brinke arranges for Hector to meet Rose Thorpe, whose 26-year-old daughter, a schoolteacher, was murdered a month earlier by a serial killer dubbed the Key West Clubber. Rose needs Hector's help because Sheriff Melvin Hoyt has done nothing to solve the crime. Meanwhile, Hector's grandfather, Beauregard Stryder, arrives from Texas for his grandson's wedding. A consummate con man, Beau steals the show as he puts together one clever scheme after another to confound greedy and corrupt targets. This is a must read for series fans and a solid introduction for new readers. (Aug.)