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Daytona Beach #5
The Biker Who Got Bumped Off
It's a rainy morning on Friday, the 12th of March in 1948, only two days before the big race on the beach down by Ponce Park.
The festivities surrounding 1948's Daytona 200 bike races are in full swing and the party is bigger, busier, and louder than anyone can ever remember.
Sadly, there are three deaths while the bikers are in town.
One is a rider who suffers an accident during the big party on Main Street.
Another is a spectator out at the races on the beach who is hit by a rider.
The third is stabbed during a late-night fight.
Tom Jarrell takes on the task of defending the man accused of committing the murder.
Ronnie Grisham hits the streets trying to find out what really happened.
There are a few snags, however...
No one's sure who the victim really is...
The defendant claims he's innocent...
The cops stand behind their open-and-shut case...
Will Tom save his client from the electric chair?
Will Ronnie find the real murderer before he can strike again?
The festivities surrounding 1948's Daytona 200 bike races are in full swing and the party is bigger, busier, and louder than anyone can ever remember.
Sadly, there are three deaths while the bikers are in town.
One is a rider who suffers an accident during the big party on Main Street.
Another is a spectator out at the races on the beach who is hit by a rider.
The third is stabbed during a late-night fight.
Tom Jarrell takes on the task of defending the man accused of committing the murder.
Ronnie Grisham hits the streets trying to find out what really happened.
There are a few snags, however...
No one's sure who the victim really is...
The defendant claims he's innocent...
The cops stand behind their open-and-shut case...
Will Tom save his client from the electric chair?
Will Ronnie find the real murderer before he can strike again?
- GenresMystery
409 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 29, 2021
7 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Frank W. Butterfield
123 books106 followersFrank W. Butterfield, not an assumed name, loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 30, 2021
I have been waiting for this book--and I loved reading it. Tom and Ronnie's adventures, Daytona Beach, are one of my favorite series of this author. I also liked that it was long enough to do justice to the story and to the trial contained in the book. Again, as I say everytime--I can not wait till the next book!
June 19, 2021
I like this series, and it's nice to see the author having the chance to get back to it.
April 8, 2021
epub from author via Patreon; 274 pages
It may have been a long time gestating but well worth the wait! A murder after the Daytona Beach weekend racing and the arresting deputy has the wrong man... We get to see Ronnie investigating, Tom in court - and Howie finding love. The story is a little more convoluted, of course - but another triumph: a definite page-turner, even when I was trying to slow down and savour the period 'feel'. The author takes pride in his historical research which gives added authenticity.
Of course those who know the books will not need encouragement - but if you are new to this author you might consider finding the earlier books in the series and read them first.
It may have been a long time gestating but well worth the wait! A murder after the Daytona Beach weekend racing and the arresting deputy has the wrong man... We get to see Ronnie investigating, Tom in court - and Howie finding love. The story is a little more convoluted, of course - but another triumph: a definite page-turner, even when I was trying to slow down and savour the period 'feel'. The author takes pride in his historical research which gives added authenticity.
Of course those who know the books will not need encouragement - but if you are new to this author you might consider finding the earlier books in the series and read them first.
July 27, 2023
The Biker who Got Bumped Off (Daytona Beach 5)
By Frank Butterfield
Published by the author, 2021
Five stars
This is an epic addition to the Daytona Beach series. Tom Jarrell and Ronnie Grisham have moved—into a new (bigger) house and new (bigger) offices. Their supporting crew—Claud Wallace, Marveen Gordon, Minnie Otey, Alice, and Howie Kirkpatrick—are all there. It is more ad hoc and small-town than the WilliamsJones crew in San Francisco, but that gives these books an emotional link to the Nick and Carter mythology, while keeping the reader firmly rooted in the Jim Crow south of the late 1940s in Florida. The fact that Alice and her girlfriend Betsy never are assigned surnames suggests an uncomfortable reality in that place and time, in spite of Alice’s warm relationship with Ronnie and Tom. Interestingly, the attention paid to the use of Joe Reynold’s full name (he is a cook at the Red Pig) is likely tied to both his role in the plot, but also his special kinship to Tom and Ronnie through his sexuality.
A tenuous, but vivid, link to San Francisco is provided by the presence of two “biker gangs,” who are really a bunch of young soldiers from World War II who have taken to riding across the country on their second-hand military-issue Harley Davidsons. Is that how biker gangs started? These are pretty sweet gangs, especially given that they both seem to be inclined as Tom and Ronnie are. Although they are the source of the murder at the center of the narrative, they are also tied to the Black Cat bar in San Francisco, which is where the gangs—the Eagles and the Ravens—first encountered each other. Fascinatingly, the Black Cat is where they meet a drag performer called the Nightingale—someone known to Nick and Carter.
Butterfield has done extensive research into the procedures related to police work and trials for this book, and it shows. There is a historically authentic feel to the whole plot arc as Frank Butterfield mixes history into his fiction. As always, the thinly-veiled homophobia that was the rule in this period is always there, adding tension and danger to the whole proceeding.
Throughout the telling of the tale, both Tom and Ronnie learn their trade, and hone their skills to become better lawyers, but also more sophisticated men. I guess there’s no better way to rise in the world than to deal with murderers of all social classes.
By Frank Butterfield
Published by the author, 2021
Five stars
This is an epic addition to the Daytona Beach series. Tom Jarrell and Ronnie Grisham have moved—into a new (bigger) house and new (bigger) offices. Their supporting crew—Claud Wallace, Marveen Gordon, Minnie Otey, Alice, and Howie Kirkpatrick—are all there. It is more ad hoc and small-town than the WilliamsJones crew in San Francisco, but that gives these books an emotional link to the Nick and Carter mythology, while keeping the reader firmly rooted in the Jim Crow south of the late 1940s in Florida. The fact that Alice and her girlfriend Betsy never are assigned surnames suggests an uncomfortable reality in that place and time, in spite of Alice’s warm relationship with Ronnie and Tom. Interestingly, the attention paid to the use of Joe Reynold’s full name (he is a cook at the Red Pig) is likely tied to both his role in the plot, but also his special kinship to Tom and Ronnie through his sexuality.
A tenuous, but vivid, link to San Francisco is provided by the presence of two “biker gangs,” who are really a bunch of young soldiers from World War II who have taken to riding across the country on their second-hand military-issue Harley Davidsons. Is that how biker gangs started? These are pretty sweet gangs, especially given that they both seem to be inclined as Tom and Ronnie are. Although they are the source of the murder at the center of the narrative, they are also tied to the Black Cat bar in San Francisco, which is where the gangs—the Eagles and the Ravens—first encountered each other. Fascinatingly, the Black Cat is where they meet a drag performer called the Nightingale—someone known to Nick and Carter.
Butterfield has done extensive research into the procedures related to police work and trials for this book, and it shows. There is a historically authentic feel to the whole plot arc as Frank Butterfield mixes history into his fiction. As always, the thinly-veiled homophobia that was the rule in this period is always there, adding tension and danger to the whole proceeding.
Throughout the telling of the tale, both Tom and Ronnie learn their trade, and hone their skills to become better lawyers, but also more sophisticated men. I guess there’s no better way to rise in the world than to deal with murderers of all social classes.
January 29, 2022
Quite a decent murder mystery overall. Glad to see some semblance of 'resolution' to the Claud/Howie saga.
May 9, 2022
Mostly Interesting
It’s a decent storyline, well researched and with sufficient detail to set the tone and place for the narrative. The mystery feels a bit contrived, or perhaps a bit forced, and the resolution is quieter than expected. Good character development, though some cast members are minimally developed, at least in this installment. Ends with the primary plot resolved.
It’s a decent storyline, well researched and with sufficient detail to set the tone and place for the narrative. The mystery feels a bit contrived, or perhaps a bit forced, and the resolution is quieter than expected. Good character development, though some cast members are minimally developed, at least in this installment. Ends with the primary plot resolved.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews