Dead Float: A Cal Claxton Mystery

In Easley’s uneven second Cal Claxton mystery (after 2013’s Matters of Doubt), fishing guide Philip Lone Deer persuades attorney Cal to help lead a trip on Oregon’s Deschutes River, though the participants turn out to include Alexis Bruckner, with whom Cal once had a brief fling, and her CEO husband, Hal. When Hal winds up with his throat slashed, suspicion falls on Cal (whose knife just happens to be missing). A thin subplot about Cal’s grown daughter, Claire, who’s on a dangerous do-gooding trip in Sudan, distracts. On the plus side, Cal—a dog devotee who loves a good bottle of pinot and is a mean hand at Scrabble—makes an engaging narrator. The Pacific Northwest setting provides good atmosphere, and Cal’s memories of his dead wife lend some emotional depth. The novel’s last paragraph promise of a new fishing adventure—and possibly new romance—will keep readers engaged in the series, despite this entry’s bumps. (July)