Frank Pavlicek is the hero of this mystery, which is the
first in the series, written in 2001 and now reissued in
e-book form. Frank left the NYPD to settle down in
Virginia, and sadly a divorce means he doesn't see much of
his daughter, now a teenager. As a hobby Frank enjoys
falconry. One day his red-tailed hawk is A WITNESS ABOVE
to
a dead body in the rough landscape.
Frank calls the local police, but he can't help checking
the dead young man's wallet - and finds his own daughter's
contact details. He knows it's wrong, but instinctively he
hides the evidence until he can talk matters over with his
daughter Nicole. But Nicole is not keen to talk to him,
hanging out with an older crowd in a rough night spot.
Frank, now working as a PI, fears that she may, through
the
dead boy, be linked to drugs or other crime. He asks a
friend who is his falconry adviser to help him reconcile
matters.
I enjoyed the falconry aspect of this story and the woodsy
setting in Virginia. The other aspect of the book involves
bars, indoor settings and unpleasant people, so it feels
much more hard-boiled and it could not be called a cosy
crime story. Frank is well able to cope, with his NYPD
background. But finding that his daughter has been jailed
drives him to distraction and we don't know him well
enough
to understand if he really blames himself and his divorce
for her situation or if he blames the company she was
keeping while unsupervised. Not to mention the trouble
he'll be in for concealing evidence. The pressure mounts
and Frank finds himself in the thick of the danger.
Andy Straka has written several more books about his
detective, so if you enjoy this one there is a treat in
store. He has also written a young person's guide to
falconry. He recreates the
Appalachian setting vividly for his stories. A WITNESS
ABOVE is for adult readers, especially those who are
interested in birds and the sport of hunting rabbits with
hawks. I'm delighted that many PI novels are now being re-
released to find a new audience.
The first book in the popular Frank Pavlicek series.
Falconer and private investigator Frank Pavlicek is hunting
with his red-tailed hawk in the Virginia woods when he
stumbles across a young man’s body and evidence that
implicates his own teenage daughter. Soon, his daughter is
in jail. Frank’s past as a disgraced former NYPD homicide
detective is coming back to haunt him. And his reputation
and life are on the line...
Excerpt
Thirteen years ago, Frank Pavlicek left the NYPD under less
than ideal circumstances. Now, the divorced father of a
teenage daughter, he works as a private investigator in
Charlottesville, Virginia, where he indulges his passion
for falconry – and tries to live outside the shadow
of his past.
Frank is hunting with his red-tailed hawk, Armistead, when
he finds it. A teenage boy's body – barely concealed
behind a pile of brush in a part of the forest Frank
recently visited with his daughter, Nicole. It's a truly
gruesome crime scene – one of the many things Frank
doesn't miss about working homicide in the big city.
But what Frank finds in the dead boy's wallet is even more
disturbing: Nicole's phone number, scribbled in ink on the
edge of a bill. He pockets the evidence and flees. Days
later, his daughter is in jail. His past is coming back to
haunt him. And his reputation – and life – are
on the line...
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