205 pp. Cover art by Barye Phillips. First novel by the author who went on to write the popular Travis McGee series, as well as The Executioners, which inspired two film adaptations (both entitled Cape Fear). In Flower City, a sleepy resort town on Florida's Gulf Coast, wealthy Elizabeth Stegman is murdered in a jewel heist gone bad - her missing jewels insured for £750,000. It falls to hardboiled ex-cop Cliff Bartells to find the killer, retrieve the jewels and console the decedent's niece and only heir, beautiful and headstrong Melody Chance. But complicating Bartell's best efforts is a local police force that proves to be less than cooperative.
