Hell Gate

A young Long Island couple are separating and can no longer afford to keep their prized 26-foot racing sloop. For old times' sake, they decide to take one last excursion, sailing to the marina where the boat's new owner waits, never knowing the ill-fated cruise will be their last.

Awarded the 1989 Edgar for best mystery debut ( Carolina Skeletons ), Stout deftly mixes terror, fun and sadness in his second rousing tale, written with Furie. Facing divorce, Kevin and Yvonne McNulty sell their racing sloop, sailing it together to the buyer to save costly delivery charges. Leaving their home on Long Island, N.Y., the McNultys, mocking the name of their classy boat, Lark IV , display enmity to match the churning tides of Hell Gate as they pass. But when rapist-killers board the Lark , Kevin and his Vonnie team up to fight the pirates instead of each other. The authors reveal gradually that the attackers are after contraband, placed on the boat without the McNultys' knowledge. This is the basis of the somewhat protracted, nevertheless mesmerizing story, consistently suspenseful except for the easily predicted outcome of the voyage for the principals: husband and wife and their Lark IV.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Taking its name from the narrow part of the East River in New York City, between Long Island and Manhattan Island, this novel revolves around a separating Long Island couple, their 26-foot sloop, and a last cruise together upriver to sell the boat to a friend. The cruise is complicated because the pair are unknowingly transporting cocaine, hidden on the boat by an acquaintance. The cruise, and story, become a series of violent confrontations with the owners of the cocaine. The drug motif and the drugs/boat connection are all too familiar. The plot is predictable, and the characterization is shallow at best. Not recommended.
- Harold N. Boyer, Marple P.L., Broomall, Pa.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.