Tropical Knights

by John F. Beckman

Jack Stevens is living the simple life as a charter boat Captain in south Miami; no complications, and no consequences. He has left behind the Vietnam War, the SEC, the IRS, and a scheming ex-wife. Life is good. And then he meets Amy, the half Cuban beauty who invites him on the adventure of a lifetime. The Latin lovely offers Jack the opportunity to save the eastern U.S. from annihilation by a dying Castro, the dictator of Cuba. Jack wants nothing to do with this woman or her mission. But before he knows it Jack is involved with the Cuban Mafia, the CIA, and duplicitous politicians. When his brother is kidnapped Jack is torn between saving America or saving his only benefactor. Jack has an impossible decision to make. Sail along with Jack and Amy on the life or death voyage which makes Jack’s existence more complicated than he ever dreamed possible.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Amazon

213 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 22, 2012

About the author

John Beckman, a retired meteorologist, was known as “Johnny the Weatherman” in a career that spanned forty years. He forecasted the weather on WSJS-TV in Winston-Salem, NC, at WFGA-TV in Jacksonville, FL, and for thirty-three years in Atlanta at WSB-TV and WXIA-TV.
In his TV career, he was the winner of many awards, including two Emmys for his predictions of severe weather.
Also an accomplished writer, Beckman has been nationally published in The New American Review and countless magazines and periodicals. Regionally, he has published twice in Oh, Georgia, an anthology of southern writers. He was a monthly contributing Editor for Southern Distinction Magazine. He has also presented at the Harriette Austin Writer’s Conference at the University of Georgia.
Besides writing, Beckman has had many hobbies over the years including flying his own plane (he’s a licensed pilot), motorcycling, sailing; and for over 50 years he has been an avid amateur radio operator with the call sign W4BTX, communicating with other “hams” all over the world.
He lives with his wife Dr. Deborah Beckman in Stone Mountain, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. He loves to hear from readers with their comments and suggestions, and he answers every email. If you wish to contact him, he receives Email at: john@johnbeckmanbooks.com. You’ll find a complete listing of all Beckman’s books and short stories on his Amazon Author page:

Reviews

[Johanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish this book and I can slog though almost anything. At the end of chapter 4 I was impatient with the characters. They were not plausible and the cliches were getting heavy. I decided to read two more chapters to see if it picked up. The last line in chapter 5 was; "that was so funny I forgot to laugh". I could not make myself read another line.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok, liked characters, left on a question ready for next book but also could be an end

[Patricia Moody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventure in Sailing

What a book, drama, CIA, murder and all! Made for a decent read and left you wondering what is next!

[Ted Duke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different, but a fun read.

Adventure, but I thought the sailing adventure more interesting than the "other" adventure.

If you are looking for realism, it is not here. If you are looking for humor, there is some here. If you like a story about people who grow to love each other in spite of whatever happens, Yes. An interesting relationship develops along the way.

A wild story, not plausible; with characters who I found interesting.

This is NOT history. It's tongue in cheek humor, poking fun at a lot of things most of us will understand and enjoy.

[Beau Gattis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

Well written but some pieces hard to swallow, even for a fiction.
Writer uses good imagery but the relationships between the two main characters is hard to believe. The story also had a lot of pieces left out so that elemental was lacking as well. I did find parts humorous and the book was entertaining plus it is a relatively short read. For those main points, I felt it deserved a three.
I do feel like the writer has talent but some aspects were reaches in regards to believability.

[Amy Fairchild]

Enjoyed reading this

The humor was well done. Somewhat sexist and in PC but I'm okay with it. Too much PC in the world and it's not realistic. Take the newer Bond movies. Takes some of the fun out. Not sure about the 58 year old doing some of the things he does, but still a good story and you'd lose the Vietnam angle with someone younger. I enjoyed the plotline and the way it's written.

[Colleen Pyles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what I call a man's book. It's an adventure and I loved it. It's characters are refreshingly politically incorrect which make them more believable. This book is of the old-school "noir" genre and I could see it as a great movie staring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Becall. Read it, it's great.

[Margie]

Good read.

excellent story line. a bit farfetched but entertaining. I wish he had found Amy. I'll look for more by this author.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Not so happy with the ending -- can't comment on here to ruin it but just didn't care for the way the story ended. Interesting story though.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good

[Paula Hatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable adventure with flawed characters.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Did wht I require which is to take me away and into an adventure. this is actually a 4 1/2.

[CRICKET SCHOOK]

Excitement

I unexpectedly enjoyed this book. It has excitement on every turn of a page. I think you will enjoy it too.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like the ending.

[Ronald O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tropical knights

A well written book with a disappointing ending. Could have been more thought out an do imaginative which might have led to a sequel I would have wanted to read.