April When They Woo

Balthazar Marten #4

by Mary Jo Adamson

For displaced NYPD Lt. Balthazar Marten, there is no escape from the spector of death. Even in Puerto Rico's semitropical tranquility, the torrential spring rains blossom into mayhem and murder.

Genres: Mystery

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1989

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#4 in the Balthazar Marten series. 13 year veteran of the NYPD, Marten has resigned and transferred to the San Juan, PR homicide squad. He is giving up his pension and 2/3 of his pay, unlikely moves unless you know he is wealthy as a result of his aunt's judicious investment in Polaroid. With his young PR partner, Sixto Cardenas, he becomes involved in a multi-level mystery involving the San Juan jewelry trade.
Worth a read.

Balthazar Marten series - Lt. Marten and his partner Sixto Cardenas have two unidentified bodies on their hands. And they have two missing salesmen. Unfortunately, they don't match up. Meanwhile, a rash of jewel robberies in San Juan takes a nasty turn. And, down below, in the tunnels beneath the city, real terror stalks. The vast cultural differences between New York and San Juan make Marten's investigation all the more perplexing. But human motivation is the same everywhere. Greed and lust, apparently, are universal.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great cast of characters that maintain the line between quirky and outrageous or unbelievable. I especially like the pacing of these stories which quietly unfold. When someone tells me that no one can write a decent 200 page story anymore, I direct them to this series.

[Tom]

#4 Lt. Marten series, Fromm