Tropical Depression: A Novel of Suspense

In a hostage situation gone wrong, L.A. cop Billy Knight lost his wife, his daughter and, almost, his will to live. But 18 months later, he's holding on in Key West, fishing and trying to forget. He's tracked there by fellow cop Roscoe McAuley, whose son was killed during the Rodney King riots. Roscoe believes his son's death was premeditated murder and asks Billy to help investigate. When Billy refuses, Roscoe takes to the streets himself where he is soon found dead, his throat slashed. Guilt drives Billy back to Los Angeles to face his ghosts and some sinister white supremacist powers within the higher echelons of the LAPD. Lindsay's attempt to give the King verdict aftermath a more broadly malign context doesn't quite work and his City of Angels is rendered somewhat less evocatively than Key West. But he sustains a high level of excitement, capped by a stunning climax, and introduces a smoothly characterized cast, especially Billy, with his gallows humor, an Aussie New Age neighbor in Key West and a gutsy, very pretty nurse--all boding well for books to come in this projected series. (July)