Product Description

Barrett Raines, the African-American detective introduced in Darryl Wimberley's first novel, A Rock and a Hard Place, is about to learn more about life on the dark side of Florida than he ever could have imagined.Barrett's life is falling apart at the seams: his wife has left him, taking their twin sons, and he is confined to desk duty because of failing performance. When Barrett and his partner Cricket are finally assigned to a new case involving a brutally murdered man and possible illegal activities, they gladly accept it even though it looks like it will be a dead end. They could not have been more wrong.The case instead leads Barrett to Dead Man's Bay, a village of fisherman so out of the way that Barrett almost doesn't find it and then wishes he never had.He not only has to face quicksand and cottonmouth moccasins, but a mystery that keeps getting deeper and more dangerous. Barrett must rely on his courage and intelligence to not only solve the crime, but save his life and the lives of those around him in a place that lives up to its name.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1761875 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Barrett ("Bear") Raines is a singular presence in Florida law enforcement, one of the very few African-American detectives assigned to an elite FBI team that investigates white-collar and violent crime. But when his beautiful wife and twin sons leave him, Barrett flounders at work, alienating partner Cricket Bonet and infuriating Capt. Henry Altmiller, who confiscates Barrett's gun and banishes him to a desk. It seems that Barrett will languish in cop purgatory forever, until the mutilated body of fisherman Miles Beynon is discovered, and Altmiller needs someone to track down Brandon Ogilvie, Beynon's former partner in a drug-related armored-car heist. So Barrett and Bonet set off for Dead Man's Bay, "a Florida that doesn't have anything to do with Disney World," ruled by omniscient Irishwoman Esther Buchanan and her sexy mulatto daughter, Megan. Esther and the other rough-hewn island natives profess ignorance of Beynon and Ogilvie, until a disgruntled fisherman reveals that Beynon's regular visits coincided with the appearance of a suspicious big cruiser in Dead Man's Bay. Following Barrett's debut in A Rock and A Hard Place, Wimberley develops his hero into a notable character, by turns self-deluded and shrewd. But much of the stock supporting cast (a Bond-era Slavic assassin, an island girl parading in tank top and cutoffs, a bigoted white sheriff) behave predictably, in a steamy island setting that merely seems reheated. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
As his debut (A Rock and a Hard Place, 1999) ended, Agent Barrett Raines, of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, was in a bad way. The fade-in now finds him unimproved: separated from his adored wife Laura Anne, on the outs with his trusted partner Cricket, drinking too much, smoking too much, even blowing off his job, something he never imagined he'd do--and blaming it all on Laura Anne. If only she hadn't decamped to Deacon Beach, stranding him in Tallahassee--taking with her the twins, Barrett's total psychological support system--he'd still be making it. But Deacon Beach, Laura Anne insists, is Afro-friendly, while in Tallahassee diversity just means different shades of tan. Chained to a desk, career in limbo, Barrett's life appears stuck at dismal when an unexpectedly brutal murder and a few stolen millions spell opportunity, and before you know it, Barrett is tooling around remote Dead Man's Bay, surrounded by an endless assortment of thoroughly mendacious suspects who in one way or another make a new man of him. In due time, he catches his murderer, cracks his case, clicks again with Cricket, and wends his way home to a Laura Anne suddenly eager to play Penelope to his Ulysses.It's nice for Barrett, not so nice for the rest of us. There's loose plotting, weak writing, and as for Barrett's sleuthing, one of his suspects says it best: Mr. Raines, for a detective you seem a slow man. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
If you don't love Raines, put two fingers on your wrist and check your pulse. --Texas Monthly

Customer Reviews

A very realistic poloce procedural
Police detective Barrett Raines needs to prove to others and perhaps more so to himself that he is as good as any white man at the job. When the Florida legislature created the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, an in-state FBI unit, Barrett was asked to join. He was well aware of the prestigious honor bestowed upon him and saw the job as a chance to prove himself.. Barrett accompanied by his beloved wife Laura Anne and their twin sons left his hometown of Deacon Beach to move to Tallahassee, headquarters of the FDLE. Ultimately, Laura Anne separated from her spouse, hating the big city and returning to Deacon Beach with the two boys.

Barrett began drinking excessively and screwing up on the job. He was nearly fired but he and his partner were instead given a seven-year-old case to solve. Two men robbed a bank but everything except an aluminum key was recovered. One thief went to jail, but upon his release was murdered by an international assassin who wants the aluminum case back. The criminal's death awakens Barrett awakens Barrett's hunting instincts and he heads to DEAD MAN'S BAY in search of clues and redemption.

Darryl Wimberley is an author who provides the audience with an action-packed police procedural that has readers wondering what will happen next. The flawed hero is vulnerable, but not afraid to speak out when he fears something. This adds up to the total package (aside from Mr. Lex Luger) of an admirable role model. The support cast augments the tale with likable individuals that lead fans to wanting more Barrett Raines tales.

Harriet Klausner

Dead Man's Bay is Dead On!!!
It is truly great that Darryl Wimberley is able to follow up his first fiction, "A Rock and A Hard Place," with such a super second book featuring Detective Barrett Raines. Wimberley's ability to make you feel the places he describes, see the characters, and live the lives inside his mysteries is a gift that I'm glad he's sharing with his readers. Only half a star off because he failed to carry on the story of his orphaned niece and nephew from "A Rock." Otherwise, Dead Man's Bay is well worth the time and money. ...

Good Sophomore Effort
This, the second book about Barret "Bear" Raines from author Darryl Wimberley, follows the African-American detective after the events of his first novel, "A Rock And A Hard Place." Bear's life has not improved since his patron's murder and his discovery of her murderer. He had been promoted to the Florida Bureau of Investigation, but the demands of the job had led to his beloved Laura Anne and sons leaving the capital for home. He and his partner get a case that no one thinks can be solved as a way for him to be eased out of his job. Almost as soon as he gets to Dead Man's Bay, he finds himself having to battle untrusting locals and his own demons, with no clear path to follow. This book did not have quite the story of the first book, but I must admit that the ending got my attention, and I found myself having to reread the narrative to discover clues I hadn't noticed. The villian is painted a little broadly, but I enjoyed the ride. Enjoy.