Tampa Heat

by Thad Diaz

Beneath Tampa’s Tropical Majesty Lies a Sinister Past

Logan Walsh can take the heat.

He’s fought fires for two decades.But when he helps his bail bondsman father chase down a skip, things go sideways. People start getting hurt. People close to Logan.Now this treacherous trail of biker gangs, crooked cops, and greedy land speculators threatens to burn more than his career......his floundering marriage, his life, even his kids are on the line.And he must find a way to get at these players and unravel a mystery that stretches across decades to one of Tampa’s darkest chapters.You’ll love Tampa Heat because it’s written by a twenty-five-year firefighter.Get it now.

466 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 25, 2023

About the author

My name is Thad Diaz. I was a Tampa Bay firefighter until I retired in 2021 with 25 years of service. I wrote sci-fi and fantasy as T. Allen Diaz, but I've always been a fan of hard-boiled mysteries. Now that I no longer ride fire trucks, I can tell my Tampa-based detective tales without concerns for my
career.

The Cigar City Case Files is based in Tampa. Its stories occur in actual or fictionalized places tailored to this great city. The tales display its glorious beauty and gritty underbelly as only a native can. I still live in the Tampa Bay area with my wife, two of my kids and a house full of dogs.

Tampa Heat is only the first in a series I hope will span into the double digits. Follow me online and join my email list for the Tampa Heat prequel, Temple Terrace Badger Game today.

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fantastic journey for me as a Tampa native and current resident. The story was intriguing the whole way through. Loved, loved, loved! I borrowed the book from the library, but I'm buying a copy to gift to my adult son, who is a certified Tampa boy.

[Reney]

"Tampa Heat" by Thad Diaz is the first in a series featuring fire-fighter, Logan Walsh. All are set in the Tampa area. Tampa is great and interesting city with a strong Cuban influence and a lively history. Mr. Diaz has a 25 year history of fire-fighting in the Tampa area. He knows well the challenges and nuances of the area.

The main character, Logan Walsh (Lo) besides being a fire-fighter works with his dad at his bail bond business. "Tampa Heat" opens with Lo and his "Pops" picking up a "skip". This young man relays to them that he has been "set up" and is frightened that he may be retaliated against for all he knows about past Tampa crimes. Of course, many people taken into custody would say the same. However, this one was telling the truth - he is soon found stabbed to death in his cell.

Lo begins to look into the situation as he feels somewhat responsible for this man's demise. What he begins to uncover encompasses several decades and involves several important people from the City of Tampa and surrounding area. Soon, Logan himself and his family are threatened because of what he comes to understand about a series of fires from Tampa's past. There is plenty of action in this novel, as well as mystery, suspense and a touch of sadness.

This is an excellent mystery with amazing characters that really come to life. I love the main character and could really identify and sympathize with him as he juggled his responsibilities at work and providing for his family, as well as trying to investigate a crime, reconcile with his wife
and spend time with his kids. It made him a very likeable and realistic character.

I would definitely be interested in reading more about the Cigar City Case Files. The next book in the series is "The Gasparilla Job" and I will pick that one up soon.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. The protagonist, Logan Walsh, is a fireman who works on the side for his dad who is a bail bondsman. Both his jobs figure into this story as well as dad with lots of other things thrown into the mix to spice it up even more including being separated from his spouse which is causing him to miss his kids (and the feeling is mutual). Lots of things to juggle, but it doesn’t prevent him from starting to dig when something doesn’t seem quite right regarding a bail skipper he and his dad had to deal with. He starts down a rabbit hole and things get more and more complicated the further he goes. Keeping track of all the players and everything that may or not figure in to what was going on, not only in the present, but many years into the past, was hard and kept me wondering what I and Logan might be missing. I was on edge and trying to figure things out right up to the end.

**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **

[Shana Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love supporting a local author's book. The descriptions were great. As a Tampa native I could picture each corner, street, or turn he described. I am a fan of crime novels, so I enjoyed the intrigue. It loses a star simply because I felt like the main character, Lo, had to keep everything close to his chest the whole book, only to spill the whole story at a weird time and then it was over. It seemed like he only finally came out with it because the author knew the reader was getting a little tired of the story, and he needed to wrap it up. It was missing something, an insider who helped him or someone from the shadows who knew something all along. Instead he just says it all and everyone believes him.
The storyline with Lo's family is a good one and it helped me find Lo to be an honorable person and want him to prevail.
Mr. Diaz did a wonderful job describing Tampa, though I was a little offended at the description of Seffner, having grown up there. Lol

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5

This was such a fun and fast-paced book to read. Tampa Heat follows Logan “Lo” Walsh a Florida firefighter and bondsman that finds himself hunting down a 25 year old mystery revolving around several fires, and how they link to the death of his recent skip.

The s is a very niche read; as the author names and describes several locations in the Tampa, FL area. If you are now familiar with these areas or streets it may not be as enticing to read. It may be hard to visualize these places or areas. But if you are looking for a fast-paced, fun, Tampa based suspense/mystery this is definitely for you.

I had such a fun time reading this book and I was hooked from the very beginning, I can’t wait to buy and dive into book 2.

[Caitlin Fitzpatrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storyline had very good potential I just found myself getting so lost with too many characters! Logan walsh is a firefighter, PI and working with his dad at his bail bonds shop. It went south when he and his father took in Bobby Lee Kinsey. Logan tries to uncover the truth in the present which digs back to fires from 20 years ago. Who can he trust? Who is at fault? It was really cool to read though and know exactly the locations and scenarios that he is talking about in the book. Good read just way too many characters.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome. Gritty, suspenseful and full of twists. Being from Central Florida , it was interesting to read all the locations that were familiar. Polk was even mentioned! The character of ‘Lo was super relatable, engaging and you really rooted for him. Can’t wait for the next book!

[D L Barbour · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hot one for sure!

I lived in Tampa during the fires and remember it all! He captured the mood and atmosphere here during that time.

The insider knowledge that he had adds more information to his character and his career.

[Bob Prol · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good for a first novel. The number of typos increased further into the book. Lots of fire fighter and other tangential stories that didn’t add much total the story arc. I may read the second one…

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

They paid her a lot of money to go away??? Why didn't she??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda hard to remember who is who with lots of characters being introduced and there were quite a few grammar mistakes but it was pretty good

[Donna D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. Good bit of mystery. Loved that it was set in Tampa Bay area, I knew and could 'see' where the characters were and had a bit more context.

[Lana Hanscom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book featuring the Tampa Bay Area, in a conspiracy mystery. Look forward to reading the local writer’s other books.

[Shaun Hamman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As my first foray into Crime novels, I thought this was a great story. The characters were engaging and believable, and the plot was fairly easy to follow. The author did a great job describing the scenes, and his experience as a firefighter definitely came through; the scenes involving firefighting tools or procedures had an extra level of technical detail to them, but this was always explained very clearly, and the reader is never made to feel left out or confused.

The occasional misspelling or strangely worded sentence outs this as a self-published novel, but these instances were very few and far between. My only real complaint would be that I found it a little difficult to remember all the side characters and locations so when they returned later in the story, I wasn't always sure if I was supposed to know who the character was or if they were being introduced for the first time. That said, I'm not sure if this is a problem specifically with this novel or a common problem in the genre as a whole.

Overall, an excellent novel and an enjoyable story. I look forward to reading further entries in this series.

[Melanie Ollila · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books started a little slow, very detailed at times creating the setting as book 1 in the Cigar City series.

I liked the firefighter/PI, MMC, Logan Walsh. He’s flawed and rough, but driven. It was the firefighter character that caught my attention to start this series. Walsh’s investigations open him, or rather his people, up to danger. The end left me wanting to read book #2, will definitely continue through the series, look forward to ongoing character development in the next book.