Fatal Decree (Matt Royal Mysteries)
Matt Royal, the retired attorney trying to live the beach-bum life in Longboat Key, Florida, once again steps into trouble. Local police detective J. D. Duncan, who is also Matt’s friend (and, he wishes, something more than that), believes a long-disappeared serial killer, the same one she was tracking when she was a Miami cop a dozen years ago, has resurfaced. Even more mysterious, one of the killer’s victims is connected to the top-secret government agency with which Jock Algren, Matt’s other close friend, is employed. Jock’s people are pretty upset about it, but here’s the question: Will they hunt down and eliminate the perp before J. D. and Matt can find him? A mixture of straight-ahead action and laid-back John D. MacDonald–style narrative (Matt is definitely a hero in the Travis McGee mold), this agreeable tale will be a treat for Griffin’s growing readership as well as Travis fans. --David Pitt