Strawman's Hammock »

On a chilly October morning, Barrett "Bear" Raines finds himself on the campground of Linton Loyd, one of the richest men in Florida, watching Linton clean his latest catch. Barrett does not understand why he, an African-American detective for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, has been invited to the rich man's playground, but soon discovers that Linton wants something from him: Linton wants Barrett to run for county sheriff and Linton will help sponsor the campaign. Barrett doesn't know what to make of the appealing offer and decides to think about it.

The following week at work, Barrett learns of a case in which illegal immigrants are being forced to bale straw under rigged contracts and the department wants to find out just how wide spread the problem is. Barrett agrees to accompany Jarold Pearson, an old acquaintance and game warden, to the woods of Linton Loyd's straw baling company. However, the men find more than a group of scared migrant workers: in a secluded tin shack, they discover the body of a young woman pinned to the wall, almost as if she had been crucified. Based on evidence at the scene, Linton's only son becomes the prime suspect, but what does that do for Barrett's chance at sheriff?

In a setting mysterious in itself, where an ancient woman could really be the witch people call her, Barrett faces horrible crime and a solution that continually changes shape, as elusive as the strange lights that flicker in his native swamps.

Publishers Weekly

The highest praise you can pay Wimberley's third procedural featuring African-American policeman Barrett Raines (after Dead Man's Bay and A Rock and a Hard Place) is that it makes you want to read his first two - like now. Wimberley's north Florida setting is so alive you can smell the pine. ("Resin seeped from those ancient trunks like maple syrup. The pine cones were large. They reminded you, when opened, of pineapples.") The two principles, Raines, special agent of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and his wife, Laura Anne, are very appealing and believable. And the villain is enough to give you the shivers. The author's clear and flowing prose carries you right along with nary an extraneous word, and the suspense builds on narrative interest - what happens next - rather than violent incidents. In the course of investigating the working conditions of Mexican laborers brought in to harvest pine needles, Raines finds a young woman murdered in the woods in a manner that's viciously obscene. The suspects at first seem so obvious that it's hard to choose among them. Raines changes his mind more than once, but the logic of his thinking is always sound. In addition to the murder, he has to sort out a child pornographer, consider an offer to run for mayor and deal with a childhood nightmare - his father's murder. Laura Anne, a wonderfully bright and warm character, provides aid and comfort. This first-rate detective novel deserves a large audience. (Nov. 12). Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.