Dead Man's Fingers - Hardcover

Lee, Barbara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312205244 ISBN 13: 9780312205249

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 1999

Synopsis

Knowing how many people are vying for waterfront property, real-estate agent Eve Elliott is uneasy when she witnesses what appears to be a jet-ski accident, and things only get more complicated when other conflicts arise that threaten the whole area

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Reviews

Realtors, developers and an environmentalist make July on the Maryland shore stickier than usual in Lee's third low-key cozy (after Final Closing). Realtor Lillian Weber and her niece, former Manhattan ad agent Eve Elliot, get a surprise client when Maryland Senate candidate Vince Darner asks them to sell his wife's land. At the same time, the two realtors are contesting the project of Carl Rainey, a neighbor's son who wants to build a luxury home blocking Lillian's seaside view. At a public hearing, zealous environmentalist Lauren DeWitt, who's filming a documentary about how the recent glut of development is ruining the coast, puts a kink in Carl's plans by proving that the original land plot hadn't been officially subdivided to include another house. Carl stomps off, threatening revenge. As Eve shows Vince's land to area developers, she's told about an abandoned fuel tank on the property that will delay sale of the land. After she and Lillian report the tank to environmental watchdogs, the pair become pariahs in the region, accused of trying to hold back progress. As July 4th nears, tempers mount. Then, during the holiday fireworks, Lauren is murdered and Lillian's dock is set afire. Adamantly refusing to hide, Eve, working with reticent detective Patrick Simmons, pieces together the murderer's identity. Though the novel boasts only modest suspense, Lee's clean prose and evocative small-town atmosphere will entertain readers while providing an in-depth look at current issues facing seaside communities. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Fortyish Eve Elliott (Final Closing, 1997, etc.)once married, once a New Yorker in advertisingnow lives in Maryland, in the village of Pines on Magothy, working for her widowed aunt Lillian Weber in the real-estate business. Water views, old trees, access to the river are part of almost every sale, and every sale must be passed on by a zoning committee. At present, Lillian's neighbor Carl Rainey is applying to enlarge his house. He's turned down, largely with help from ardent young environmentalist Lauren DeWitt, whose efforts are antagonizing many of the locals. The climax comes at the Fourth of July Festival when Lillian's dock is burned down and Lauren is found dead nearbya homicide according to taciturn Detective Simmons, who makes it plain to Eve that he doesn't need her help. As usual she pays him no mind and goes her inquisitive waygathering gossip about businessman Vince Darner, whose political ambitions and failing business are pushing him to sell his wife's valuable property. There's also slick lawyer Dick Hubbard, along with Nasty Duck Jarvis, who hits his wife Josie. Help is had, though, from sweet young Tim Clayson, who works in the Permit Application Center, where construction and site plans are registered. The unconvincing solution, when it comes, puts Eve's life at riskand one hopes she'll now go back to her romance with Mitch Gaylin and maybe even sell a house or two. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312205244
• ISBN 13: 9780312205249
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 276