Former chief warrant officer and amputee Sam Blackman and his partner, Nakayla Robertson, are opening a detective agency. They have high hopes that the thriving mountain region will provide a steady stream of cases.
Their first client, a quirky elderly woman in a retirement community, makes a strange request. She wants Sam to right a wrong she committed over seventy years ago. Her victim: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Her crime: stealing a manuscript when Fitzgerald resided in the stately Grove Park Inn. Sam’s task seems simple enough: retrieve the woman’s lockbox and deliver the manuscript to Fitzgerald’s heirs.
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"The Blackman mysteries have a great pairing of lead characters ."
— Dean (4 out of 5 stars)
“Winning…Readers will hope to see a lot more of the book’s amiable characters, in particular, Sam and Nakayla, whose comfortable banter lends the story much of its charm.”
— Publishers Weekly“If eclectic Asheville had a voice, it would sound like the understated Southern accent chosen by narrator William Dufris…Intrigue surrounding the military contractor Blackwater makes the story especially timely.”
— AudioFile“The warmth of Sam and Nakayla’s relationship and Sam’s challenged but determined heart make for a great read.”
— Kirkus Reviews“Listeners will enjoy William Dufris’ able voice as it crackles and shifts from character to character. He moves effortlessly from male to female, southerners, northerners, old and middle aged. Good listening for the road with plenty of plot to draw listeners.”
— SoundCommentary.com" First sentence - "The night sky around Asheville can play tricks on the eye." "
— Douglas, 6/27/2013" A little sluggish but enjoyed the Fitzgerald info. "
— Sharon, 5/5/2013" Not up to his usual fare. Too many misdirections made for a story that didn't hold together and the villain was no mystery at all from almost the beginning. "
— Mary, 4/1/2012" Second in this author's Sam Blackman series. Set in Asheville, these books give the reader a sense of Asheville history as well as an exciting story! "
— MaryAnn, 7/16/2011" This is the 2nd in the series. I liked it well enough to read it in a couple days. But I did rather guess the bad guy. The first one had me guessing more. "
— Psue, 6/14/2011" Pretty good light reading "
— Sherie, 11/29/2010" A little sluggish but enjoyed the Fitzgerald info. "
— Sharon, 8/13/2010" Not up to his usual fare. Too many misdirections made for a story that didn't hold together and the villain was no mystery at all from almost the beginning. "
— Mary, 10/12/2009" First sentence - "The night sky around Asheville can play tricks on the eye." "
— Douglas, 9/20/2009Mark de Castrique is the author of the Washington, DC, political thriller, The 13th Target, and author of the critically acclaimed Barry Clayton and Sam Blackman mystery series, both set in the mountains of his native North Carolina, and as well as mysteries for young adults. He is a veteran of the television and film production industry and serves as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
William Dufris attended the University of Southern Maine in Portland-Gorham before pursuing a career in voice work in London and then the United States. He has won more than twenty AudioFile Earphones Awards, was voted one of the Best Voices at the End of the Century by AudioFile magazine, and won the prestigious Audie Award in 2012 for best nonfiction narration. He lives with his family in Maine.