Years have passed. The boy is now William Heart, a Tampa private investigator. And Stroven just may be a culprit in his current case as well.

EQ Edmunds exited a stateroom in the middle of the Atlantic in 1926 by way of a porthole. Was it suicide? Was it murder? Or, as his pushy socialite wife believes, was it a hoax? Nesta Edmunds is sure EQ is living the good life somewhere in hiding. Victory Life Insurance paid off, but not to her. His shady investors didn't lose a dime. Victory Life gained a resort community. It seems all the movers and shakers of 1928 Tampa benefitted. Nesta is bitter.

Speakeasies and thugs abound in this period piece. The price structure of the period is startling to the modern reader. The descriptions of Ybor, a Latin City within the Tampa city limits, is fascinating. So are the details of cigar factory work and early union activities, including a 1915 strike. I never knew factories had lectors to read aloud to the workers and stave off boredom.

The mystery is compelling, but cluttered with too many characters. Alicia Garcia, the now grownup girl of his youthful dreams, plays a role that contributes little. Colorless insurance employee Les Moore is given more space than his importance warrants. These peripheral characters make it hard to keep the important ones straight. This is a fun read with lots of interesting historical notes.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Sweet

Reviewer: Lynn Bushey
March 28, 2008