Palm Beach County Police and FBI are calling a serial
killer
that has mutilated four women with a machete, the
"Cutter."
He selects white women. having had a relationship with a
black man, and leaves their remains on sugar cane fields
belonging to the Cortina Sugar Company. His trademark is
specific. He mutilates and then smudges ashes on the
faces
of his victims.
Abe Beckham is moving up with his career as a star
prosecutor for the State of Florida in the Miami office.
His personal life, is a mess. Samantha Vine, beyond
beautiful, was the love of his live and died of cancer
much
too early in her life. He married Angelina who he dated
before he met Samantha. Too fast. Abe is still grieving
his black beauty who stole his heart and left too soon.
Called to a crime scene in the Everglades where he meets
FBI agent Victoria Santos. They examine the victim. She
is
headless and black. When her identity is discovered, Abe
goes from being an investigator to being the number one
suspect being investigated. He had a one night fling
with
the victim, Tyla Tompkins, a Miami attorney, when he was
married to Samantha. Abe lies about their acquaintance
but
phone records and pictures of them together put him front
and center in the investigation.
This book actually is telling two stories at one time.
One
is the chase to find the
"Cutter"; the second about the sugar cane industry. It
has
a poor reputation for working impoverished immigrants to
unimaginable lengths with inhumane treatment. It hearkens
back to the past when machete-wielding men cut sugar cane
by
hand in the blazing tropic sun. One such worker was
Samantha's father, Luther. In 1941 he had his rights
violated as a cane cutter and now resides in a rest home.
His bi-polar son J.T., is full of problems but Abe is
there
for both of them in memory of Samantha.
CANE AND ABE is a psychological thriller with zigs and
zags that keep you
glued and turning those pages. I did not care for
Angelina. She had too many problems. Her constant
questioning Abe's fidelity as well as his attachment to
Samantha's father and brother was selfish, cold, and
unyielding.
Santos was ruthless and relentless as an FBI agent. Every
move she makes is all about her, using anyone and everyone
to reach her goal.
The ending for me was confusing and left many questions.
I will stay to Abe, the next time Angelina makes osso
buca,
let her try some first before you do. I'm just
saying??????
A spellbinding novel of suspense from New York Times
bestselling author James Grippando, in which Miami’s top
prosecutor becomes a prime suspect in his wife’s
disappearance, which may have a chilling connection to the
woman he can’t forget.
Unbelievable was the word for her. Samantha Vine was
unbelievably beautiful. It was unbelievable that she’d
married me. Even more unbelievable that she was gone . . .
Samantha died too soon. Abe Beckham’s new wife has helped
him through the loss, but some say it was a step back to
marry Angelina, a love from Abe’s past. Abe doesn’t want
to hear it, and through the ups and downs, he’s even
managed to remain a star prosecutor at the Miami State
Attorney’s Office.
Then everything goes wrong. A woman’s body is discovered
dumped in the Everglades, and Abe is called upon to
monitor the investigation. The FBI is tracking a killer in
South Florida they call “Cutter” because his brutal
methods harken back to Florida’s dark past, when machete-
wielding men cut sugarcane by hand in the blazing sun.
But when the feds discover that Abe had a brief encounter
with the victim after Samantha’s death, and when Angelina
goes missing, the respected attorney finds himself under
fire. Suspicion surrounds him. His closest friends,
family, professional colleagues, and the media no longer
trust his motives. Was Angelina right? Was their marriage
not what they’d hoped for because he loved Samantha too
much? Or was there another woman . . . and a husband with
a dark side who simply wanted his new wife gone?