Cold Quarry (Frank Palvicek Mysteries) [Paperback]

Straka's hero is a hard-boiled P.I. of the old school who nevertheless has his tender moments. He hails from Charlottesville, Virginia (home of the University of Virginia), but this time out Straka effectively takes Pavlicek to the wilds of West Virginia to do battle with an assortment of white supremacists, lowlifes and shadowy government types. He's joined again by his sometime sidekick and former homicide partner, Jake Toronto, whose backstory gets some examination this time out.

I won't give away too much of the plot other than to say the book starts out with the murder of a friend of Pavlicek and Toronto who is a fellow enthusiast for the sport of falconry. The official police line is that the death was a hunting accident, but when Pavlicek is brutally attacked while visiting the crime scene, he immediately suspects foul play. When he starts asking questions, other people start to die and it becomes apparent that his friend Toronto is mixed up in something very dangerous.

Overall, "Cold Quarry" contains plenty of action as well as colorful and sympathetic characters and firmly establishes the Frank Pavlicek series as one of the best P.I. series to come along in recent years.

Frank finds the police constantly telling him to go home to Charlottesville and leave the investigating to them, but he isn't convinced they are looking in the right places.

Frank's daughter Nicole, a college student who is working with him in the office, wants to help with the investigation. Frank sends her back to Charlottesville to do some work in the office. She is not pleased with this, but does it. Frank isn't sure how he ever ran the office without her.

As Frank investigates, he finds himself getting deeper and deeper. Jake ends up getting himself in trouble with the law. Could they be dealing with terrorists or just the local radicals? Who can they trust? In the end Jake and Frank are both in danger.

The author has created great characters and the falcon hunting really adds to the story. I enjoy this series because it is often set in Virginia where I am living. I like the mystery about Jake. It really adds to the story. I hope in future books that Frank is able to have a healthy love relationship. I like Nicole working with Frank. I think this adds to the story. I hope she becomes more involved over time.

The story goes so many different directions it is difficult to figure out who the killer is and why. I like the way he crafts his stories.

I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

The police tell her it was probably a drunken hunter but Mrs. Carew thinks the Stonewall Rangers, a local right wing militia group, had something to do with it. As soon as Frank starts asking questions and stirring the locals up, he is asked to "stand down" by the local police, the FBI and the ATF who have a sting operation in place that takes priority. Frank isn't one to back off and that is a good trait because he learns that the stingers are about to be stung.

The protagonist, Frank Pavlicek is a strong willed character who is so loyal to those he cares about that when Mr. Toronto is arrested, Frank does everything in his power to help him. The events that take place in this book are a reflection of the persistent atmosphere of the United States government following the events of September 11, 2001. Andy Straka not only knows how to weave current events into his story line, but also he creates an exciting thought provoking who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner