The Houseboat Murders

Naked corpses are found on a rental houseboat. There¿s a Hollywood connection, a drug ring connection, a crooked cop among the investigators, and a killer hiding where no one would look. It could be an unsolvable crime¿until an alcoholic ex-deputy and his son join the hunt¿and the hunted.¿Not your garden-variety detective story.¿¿Clark Kent, Daily Planet¿An unpredictable, compelling read for mystery fans. The inclusion of an upscale high school and its denizens provides a fresh and welcome change from the ghettos and drug dens we¿ve come to expect.¿¿Hazings Review¿Gripping¿plausible¿skillfully structured¿eminently satisfying.¿¿Tinseltown Times¿Take a deceptive killer with a flawless plan, add one guilt-ridden has-been detective, a ruthless drug lord, a cop on the take, and some self-absorbed teenagers. You get a thoroughly entertaining, suspenseful yarn that sucks you in like a shop vac¿.¿¿Stephanie Plump, Criminologist An unusual detective novel blends genres and clichés to create a suspenseful, likeable story. Wagner embeds a Hardy Boys-esque teen mystery within the more complex frame of a seaside mystery a la Carl Hiaasen or John D. MacDonald, but he doesn't fully embrace either genre¿an unusual literary tactic that works surprisingly well.While The Houseboat Murders could have been a passé, after-school special blown out to Hollywood proportions, the odd turn of events hidden within the straightforward structure rescues it from mediocrity. ¿A¿ for effort, with bonus points for originality-Kirkus Discoveries