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Harry Rice #1
The Harry Chronicles
With the income from his low-key beach pub, the Sand Bar, Harry Rice has room for discretion in the detective work he takes on. So he should have been a little more selective about taking Eloise Loftus's case - especially since Wade Loftus tried to fire Harry before Eloise even had a chance to hire him.
It seems like a fairly simple job. The Loftuses' apartment was cleaned out by burglars, and while the insurance company has replaced nearly everything, they can't do much about the stolen collection of antique guns. Disregarding Wade Loftus's objections, Harry starts looking for the guns, only to realize that all is not what it seems. Simple theft segues into adultery, smuggling, and murder - with Harry perfectly positioned to take the blame.
It seems like a fairly simple job. The Loftuses' apartment was cleaned out by burglars, and while the insurance company has replaced nearly everything, they can't do much about the stolen collection of antique guns. Disregarding Wade Loftus's objections, Harry starts looking for the guns, only to realize that all is not what it seems. Simple theft segues into adultery, smuggling, and murder - with Harry perfectly positioned to take the blame.
- GenresMystery
232 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 6, 2020
PROTAGONIST: Harry Rice, PI and bar owner
SETTING: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
SERIES: #1
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Harry Rice is the owner of an oceanside bar in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and does private investigative work on the side. He is hired by a well-to-do client, Eloise Loftus, to find her gun collection which was stolen during a home robbery. As the investigation proceeds, Harry finds that something is not right--the guns aren't worth nearly the amount that Loftus says they are. Things get more complicated when her husband, Wade, a lawyer, also wants to hire Harry and is later murdered. Harry cracks wise and has signs of developing into an interesting character in this first book.
SETTING: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
SERIES: #1
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Harry Rice is the owner of an oceanside bar in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and does private investigative work on the side. He is hired by a well-to-do client, Eloise Loftus, to find her gun collection which was stolen during a home robbery. As the investigation proceeds, Harry finds that something is not right--the guns aren't worth nearly the amount that Loftus says they are. Things get more complicated when her husband, Wade, a lawyer, also wants to hire Harry and is later murdered. Harry cracks wise and has signs of developing into an interesting character in this first book.
July 3, 2012
I really liked this book! It is like an old detective (PI) novel, with all the crazy descriptions. It was a really good plot, lots of twists. I didn't know the bad guy till the very end. There is one part towards the end that is a little too descriptive at a strip bar (but I'm kind of sensitive to that stuff). All in all, good book
October 20, 2008
THE HARRY CHRONICLES - Ex
Pedrazas, Allan - 1st book
The personable Harry Rice, who supports his penchant for detection by running the kind of bar that respectable PIs past and present would happily call their own, is a glib wisecracker, whose unlucky love life and solo walks on the beach mark him as a soulful type, too. His difficult new client, the middle-aged but well-put together Eloise Loftus, is holding out on him. She says she wants him to find a valuable gun collection that she claims was stolen from her apartment during a physically impossible heist. But her husband scares Harry off the trail. So does a sultry redhead who both piques Harry's curiosity and delivers a highly professional warning to back off the case. Then the husband turns up murdered and Harry becomes a suspect.
Good character, plot twists, strong sense of place, humor. I really enjoyed this.
Pedrazas, Allan - 1st book
The personable Harry Rice, who supports his penchant for detection by running the kind of bar that respectable PIs past and present would happily call their own, is a glib wisecracker, whose unlucky love life and solo walks on the beach mark him as a soulful type, too. His difficult new client, the middle-aged but well-put together Eloise Loftus, is holding out on him. She says she wants him to find a valuable gun collection that she claims was stolen from her apartment during a physically impossible heist. But her husband scares Harry off the trail. So does a sultry redhead who both piques Harry's curiosity and delivers a highly professional warning to back off the case. Then the husband turns up murdered and Harry becomes a suspect.
Good character, plot twists, strong sense of place, humor. I really enjoyed this.
November 24, 2014
This little gem was an award winner and was also nominated for a couple other awards, including the Edgar. A terrific novel, quickly paced with a sparkling wit that is indeed rare. There are very few novels that I will read a second time, and this is one them.
June 7, 2022
Harry Rice is clever, sharp, and given just the right touch of insecurity to be a believable every-man medium boiled gumshoe…the the love child of Dashiel Hammet and Carl Hiassen. Pedrazas spins a yarn worth twice the time!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews