FrostLine

Ben Abbott Mysteries #3

by Justin Scott

HardScape and StoneDust, the first Ben Abbott novels, established Ben as one of the most engaging and canny investigators to have appeared in a long time. Britain's Literary Review terms the Abbotts "Smooth, sardonic, impeccably argued, immaculately written" while author Lawrence Block "Frostline is the best book in a series that started strong and keeps getting better." When Newbury's newest resident, ex-diplomat Harry King, the close confidant of Kissinger and reputed to have been heavily involved in the Vietnam War, summons real estate agent Ben Abbott to his new McMansion, Ben dreams of big dollar signs. The commission from selling the Fox Trot estate would be huge. But King doesn't want Ben's selling expertise, he wants him to act as a mediator between him and his troublesome neighbour, surly Vietnam vet Ronnie Butler. A strip of Butler's land cuts straight into King's estate like a knife, acting as a red flag for two neighbors who are as ornery and quarrelsome as a pair of rival bulls. In fact, the testoserone is flowing heavier than the waters in the stream King is damming up for a picturesque lake. Before Ben can mediate, an explosion rocks a lavish party on the Fox Trot lawn. The blast blows up the dam--and Butler's ex-con son, Dickie, along with it. Butler, an army-trained sapper, is arrested for setting the dynamite. Ben, whose childhood friend Dickie had tried his patience and loyalty many times before, refuses to accept Butler's guilt. Besides, too many things don't add up. Could it be the work of terrorists? Of one of the many groups holding a grudge against King? Or just someone with his own axe to grind? With the Feds on the scene, caught in state and locallaw enforcement jockeying, Ben negotiates an unpopular course through the usual minefield of his various loyalties to friends, family and lovers, of whom there are plenty....

Genres: Mystery

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 1998

About the author

Also writes as Justin Scott, Paul Garrison, J.S. Blazer, and Alexander Cole.

Reviews

[Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sophisticated mystery that can be enjoyed by those with more than the average 9th grade outlook.

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

FROSTLINE - G
Scott, Justin – 3rd in series
In quaint Newbury, Conn., real estate broker Abbott gets caught in a nasty land battle between two neighbors: cantankerous Vietnam vet Richard Butler, whose troubled, violent son, Dicky, has just been released from jail, and Harry King, a high-powered former diplomat and owner of Fox Trot estate, who wants Abbott to act as mediator in buying a sliver of Butler's property that juts into Fox Trot. King is creating a lake by damming a stream, but an explosion during a fancy lawn luncheon blows up the dam and turns the lake into a mud pond. In the sloppy remains, Abbott steps on parts of Dicky Butler's body. Since the local sheriff is a dolt, Abbott starts detecting.

I very much enjoyed the first two books in this series and was looking forward to this addition, first released in the UK in 1997 and has been updated. The main characters needed a bit more depth, the others weren’t very likable, but I still found myself reading straight through.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the characters in this book. Ben Abbott is a realtor and part-time investigator who comes from both sides of the track, so he is able to get information that others may not be able to obtain. His aunt Connie on his father's side is the Grande Dame of this small Connecticut town, and his mother is from the Chevalley family who reside in a trailer park and are no strangers to the wrong side of prison bars. This is also an unusual murder mystery in that the murder occurs deeper into the book than most mysteries. This is the first Justin Scott book I have read, and I will definitely seek out some of his others.