Vincent H. O’Neil Reduced Circumstances

Reduced Circumstances

Vincent H. O'Neil

Dunne, Jul 2007, $22.95

ISBN: 9780312369668

Having survived MURDER IN EXILE, Florida, fact checker Frank Cole also works as a dispatcher at the Midnight Taxi Service. One of the cabdrivers Billy Lee tells Frank about picking up a teenage boy near a bunch of blue lights; apparently the cops were moonlighting working a drug bust. Frank thinks nothing of the story until Billy fails to show up to work and several people that include Ritzy Atlanta private investigator Curtis Winslow, two slick alleged Alabama bounty hunters (an illegal activity in Florida), and a cute underage female claiming to be the girlfriend seek the passenger, Dennis Taylor AKA Dennis Sharp.

Always curious, Frank checks the facts into Taylor-Sharp and learns of some strange activities involving the lad including apparent illegal con games. Soon afterward, a corpse is found containing a Midnight Taxi Service map. As Frank continues to make inquires in between dispatching and losing strength contests to his girlfriend Beth Ann, the case takes even odder spins as the target of everyone's affection is dead yet the players keep coming around with more questions.

Frank is a strong central character who keeps the interesting mystery focused even with his asides with Beth Ann. The support cast at the taxi company and those seeking Dennis add depth to this fine Florida Panhandle thriller. Readers will enjoy Frank's efforts as he checks the facts while an entourage badgers him for information.

Harriet Klausner