Bone Key - Hardcover

A new Deal novel is cause for celebration, as fans of Les Standiford's series featuring the Florida contractor know. This time around, Deal's complicated family ties lure him from Miami to Key West to bid on a huge project being developed by entrepreneur Franklin Stone, an old friend of his father's. It's always a good idea to get a series hero away from his usual haunts, even if the Keys aren't that far from Florida's gold coast; the geography of the setting is key to this somewhat run-of-the-mill tale of buried treasure, vintage wine, and murder. What makes this mystery worthwhile isn't the plot, it's the people; instead of Vernon Driscoll, Deal's usual sidekick, Standiford gives us Russell Straight, and instead of Janice, Deal's estranged wife, the author sets up Annie Dodds, Deal's college girlfriend, as his love interest; it's the author's skill at characterization that renders them real rather than stereotypical, multifaceted rather than one-dimensional. Not the best of the series, but still well worth reading. --Jane Adams

Les Standiford is the author of eight previous novels, and is the past recipient of the Frank O'Connor Award for Short Fiction and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. He is the director of the creative writing program at Florida International University in Miami.