THE BATTLE OF PALM BEACH

TOM TURNER

Veteran and prolific writer Tom Turner has done it again. The newest entry in his long-running and successful series, The Battle Of Palm Beach, features detectives Charlie Crawford, Mort Ott, and other familiar characters, making it a pleasure to read. Turner sets his scenes with abundant imagery that makes the reader believe they are on the streets, solving the crime along with Mort and Charlie.

Somebody has callously murdered a famous rock star on the streets of Palm Beach. The outlook does not appear rosy, with no clues, witnesses, or forensics. Charlie narrows their suspect after the usual footwork, knocking on doors, and observing surveillance videos.

In wealthy conclaves like Palm Beach or the Hamptons, entitled citizens like their country clubs. In this case, the Poinciana is a country club that caters to the Uber wealthy, meaning exclusivity. When three or four “outsiders” from the entertainment and manufacturing business get together to buy the club and turn it into a housing development for the wealthy, controversy ensues.

The Battle of Palm Beach takes place on two intriguing fronts: Crawford and Ott doing their jobs and the shenanigans of the “new money“ who want to reshape the Poinciana in their image.

Reading Turner’s novels is like watching movies and having a large popcorn. You never want the film or the popcorn to end. The reader will wish that Turner could write as fast as the reader consumes Turner’s outstanding and entertaining procedurals.