Dark and troubled, DeClan MacManus, "Mac," would just like to be left alone with a bottle of Jim Beam. But Mac needs to eat as well as drink so he decides to do some work for a rich but sleazy private investigator, Frank Gannon. Frank pairs Mac up with Augie Hartsell, a tough older man who did a couple tours in Nam and worked for the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The wealthy beach area of Southhampton is full of rich people who have problems and cheating spouses. Mac and Augie are doing lucrative, if distasteful, work until they are told to deliver a message to a man named Volger.

When Volger is shot right in front of them, Mac and Augie try to catch the killer and nearly get themselves killed in the attempt. Mac finds himself in even more trouble after he saves Augie's daughter from being raped by the Chief of Police's son - a kid who has reputation for getting away with rape. Mac deliberately tears the boy's leg up so that he can never rape or hurt another young girl again. A local football hero, the boy loses his college scholarship and his father wants revenge.

So Mac has a killer and the Chief of Police gunning for him, but his problems don't end there. The past he drinks steadily to avoid facing, is not going to leave him alone. And Mac knows from hard experience that the wealthy and the powerful keep the best and the dirtiest of secrets.

My biggest problem with The Poisoned Rose is that Mac is an alcoholic whose affliction never seems to affect him when it really matters. Personally, I think Mac's worst problem is that he has no sense of humor. He's the good guy who hates injustice and has to drink to escape from the world and from being the tough guy everyone expects him to be.

The book would have been more suspenseful if I'd truly thought Mac's drinking would keep him from saving himself or his friends. And it is truly amazing how this guy beats people up on a regular basis but never does any jail time.

However, since I'm talking about Mac as if he's a real person, I have to admit I was sucked into the mystery that is Mac. Plus The Poisoned Rose has lots of action, a good amount of twists and turns, and is a fast-paced read.

--Judith Flavell