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COLD QUARRY by Andy Straka Signet, April 2003 288 pages $5.99 ISBN: 0451208439 Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Frank Pavlicek, former cop and current private investigator, lives and works in Charlottesville, Virginia, after leaving New York City and the NYPD. The shooting death of master falconer Chester Carew takes Frank to West Virginia. He goes there for the funeral but stays to investigate Carew's death.

Frank's former NYPD partner, Jake Toronto, had been Carew's falconry "sponsor," although Jake would be the first to admit that it was a mere formality; Carew knew more than almost anyone about hawks and needed a sponsor only to get his license. Frank, a falconer himself, grew to know Carew through Jake and respected and admired the man. It's inconceivable that anyone would have wanted to harm Carew, but Frank has trouble believing that the shooting was a hunting accident, which is the official explanation.

Carew's widow has her doubts, too, and asks Frank to investigate. It doesn't take much to persuade him, not after his own unfortunate encounter with an armed attacker on the very mountain where Carew was killed. Nitro, West Virginia, isn't New York City and Frank doubts that the two acts of violence could possibly be unrelated.

Not everyone agrees, though, including the local police. But do they really believe that Carew's death was an accident and the attack on Frank was an isolated incident or are they covering up something more widespread than anyone wants to acknowledge? Frank's suspicions that it's the latter only grow when Federal agents appear in little Nitro and warn him off. That's all Frank needs to know that something is very wrong in Nitro and that he won't stop until he finds out what it is. When the Feds finally make an arrest, the stakes become much higher. Frank knows they have the wrong man and time is running out for him to prove it.

Cold Quarry<\i> definitely lives up to the high standard set by Straka's first two books in this series. This book is a little darker than its predecessors and Straka has ratcheted up the suspense considerably. The plot is timely, with government agents who feel the threat of terrorism warrants the suspension of constitutional rights, citizens who distrust the government, and outlaws who think violence is the best response to anything with which they disagree.

Straka doesn't sacrifice character development to plot. Frank continues to grow, to become more aware and accepting of who he is. His relationship with his daughter is a strong one, even as he struggles to adjust to her increasing independence. Jake Toronto, who has always been somewhat enigmatic, opens up more in Cold Quarry than in previous books and more is revealed of how he became the man he is today...and exactly what kind of man he is.

3rCold Quarry confirms that this is a series with legs, one that should enjoy a long and successful run.