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Lew Fonesca #3
Midnight Pass
Lew Fonesca is a guy just trying to get along. When his wife died in a senseless auto wreck, he got up and left his old life--and when his car gave out in sunny Sarasota, Florida, he stayed. He takes small process-serving gigs and various odd jobs helping people out, and he tries, although maybe not as hard as he should, to fix the gaping hole in his heart.
But for a man who just wants to ease through life without any complications, Lew has a pretty full plate. The shrink that Lew's been seeing for more than a year wants him to finally dump all the grief that he's carrying around so he can have more than a half-life. And Sally, the pretty single mom and social worker who has helped Lew in the past, wants to deepen their friendship. On top of that, a local minister asks him to find a town council member who has gone missing just before a crucial vote that could ruin a struggling community, and a distraught father comes to Lew to track down his wife and two kids, whom Lew suspects ran off with the man's best friend.
When people start showing up dead, Lew knows he's in way over his head--and this time he may not be able make it all come out okay.
But for a man who just wants to ease through life without any complications, Lew has a pretty full plate. The shrink that Lew's been seeing for more than a year wants him to finally dump all the grief that he's carrying around so he can have more than a half-life. And Sally, the pretty single mom and social worker who has helped Lew in the past, wants to deepen their friendship. On top of that, a local minister asks him to find a town council member who has gone missing just before a crucial vote that could ruin a struggling community, and a distraught father comes to Lew to track down his wife and two kids, whom Lew suspects ran off with the man's best friend.
When people start showing up dead, Lew knows he's in way over his head--and this time he may not be able make it all come out okay.
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2003
36 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Stuart M. Kaminsky
160 books215 followersStuart M. Kaminsky wrote 50 published novels, 5 biographies, 4 textbooks and 35 short stories. He also has screenwriting credits on four produced films including ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, ENEMY TERRITORY, A WOMAN IN THE WIND and HIDDEN FEARS. He was a past president of the Mystery Writers of America and was nominated for six prestigious Edgar Allen Poe Awards including one for his short story “Snow” in 1999. He won an Edgar for his novel A COLD RED SUNRISE, which was also awarded the Prix De Roman D’Aventure of France. He was nominated for both a Shamus Award and a McCavity Readers Choice Award.
Kaminsky wrote several popular series including those featuring Lew Fonesca, Abraham Lieberman, Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov, and Toby Peters. He also wrote two original "Rockford Files " novels. He was the 50th annual recipient of the Grandmaster 2006 for Lifetime Achievement from the Mystery Writers of America.
Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievement award) in 2007.
His nonfiction books including BASIC FILMMAKING, WRITING FOR TELEVISION, AMERICAN FILM GENRES, and biographies of GARY COOPER, CLINT EASTWOOD, JOHN HUSTON and DON SIEGEL. BEHIND THE MYSTERY was published by Hot House Press in 2005 and nominated by Mystery Writers of America for Best Critical/Biographical book in 2006.
Kaminsky held a B.S. in Journalism and an M.A. in English from The University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Speech from Northwestern University where he taught for 16 years before becoming a Professor at Florida State. where he headed the Graduate Conservatory in Film and Television Production. He left Florida State in 1994 to pursue full-time writing.
Kaminsky and his wife, Enid Perll, moved to St. Louis, Missouri in March 2009 to await a liver transplant to treat the hepatitis he contracted as an army medic in the late 1950s in France. He suffered a stroke two days after their arrival in St. Louis, which made him ineligible for a transplant. He died on October 9, 2009.
Kaminsky wrote several popular series including those featuring Lew Fonesca, Abraham Lieberman, Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov, and Toby Peters. He also wrote two original "Rockford Files " novels. He was the 50th annual recipient of the Grandmaster 2006 for Lifetime Achievement from the Mystery Writers of America.
Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievement award) in 2007.
His nonfiction books including BASIC FILMMAKING, WRITING FOR TELEVISION, AMERICAN FILM GENRES, and biographies of GARY COOPER, CLINT EASTWOOD, JOHN HUSTON and DON SIEGEL. BEHIND THE MYSTERY was published by Hot House Press in 2005 and nominated by Mystery Writers of America for Best Critical/Biographical book in 2006.
Kaminsky held a B.S. in Journalism and an M.A. in English from The University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Speech from Northwestern University where he taught for 16 years before becoming a Professor at Florida State. where he headed the Graduate Conservatory in Film and Television Production. He left Florida State in 1994 to pursue full-time writing.
Kaminsky and his wife, Enid Perll, moved to St. Louis, Missouri in March 2009 to await a liver transplant to treat the hepatitis he contracted as an army medic in the late 1950s in France. He suffered a stroke two days after their arrival in St. Louis, which made him ineligible for a transplant. He died on October 9, 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 8, 2014
Sometimes audios work for me sometimes, not so much. Depends on how much and where I drive that particular week.
With that said, I wasn't paying as much attention as I would have been had I been driving on a long straight stretch of road. We do have such roads in north Florida just not where I was going.
This was my first Lew Fonesca and it's number three in the series although I didn't know it was a series when I picked it up at the library. I do like the character, a process server who locates (if needed) people to serve legal papers.
I've been wanting to read Stuart M. Kaminsky so this was perfect. However, it may be closer (IMO) to three stars. But I'm giving it 3 1/2 stars and rounding up, giving Kaminsky four stars. In part because I didn't give the book my full attention.
Sorry, Lew Fonesca and Mr. Kaminsky.
With that said, I wasn't paying as much attention as I would have been had I been driving on a long straight stretch of road. We do have such roads in north Florida just not where I was going.
This was my first Lew Fonesca and it's number three in the series although I didn't know it was a series when I picked it up at the library. I do like the character, a process server who locates (if needed) people to serve legal papers.
I've been wanting to read Stuart M. Kaminsky so this was perfect. However, it may be closer (IMO) to three stars. But I'm giving it 3 1/2 stars and rounding up, giving Kaminsky four stars. In part because I didn't give the book my full attention.
Sorry, Lew Fonesca and Mr. Kaminsky.
March 6, 2022
9Lew Fonesca is sort of a sad-sack type of guy, but with skills. He's in his 40s, living alone on the cheap in Sarasota because that's where his car crapped out as he escaped Chicago following the death of his wife. She was an attorney, killed in a hit and run. He was a researcher in the Cook County States Attorney's office. Lew survives in his adopted hometown by serving paper for a local law firm and doing the occasional favor, usually involving danger and not much money in return, for friends and acquaintances. He has a couple quirky close friends, a psychologist he keeps busy for 20 bucks a session, and a potential romantic interest. Stuart Kaminsky has done a great job fleshing out this character!
Midnight Pass puts Fonesca in the middle of 2 situations. He's asked to locate a city board member who's MIA prior to a big vote on a development project. The missing board member, a rich old coot who is expected to vote one way, actually plans to vote consistent with the wishes of a local black activist. However, he has disappeared and is supposedly near death. Lew is also approached by a man, a friend of a friend, whose wife has left him for another man and has taken the young children as well. Fonseca accepts both challenges while also being on the hook to serve a couple legal documents and make his weekly chat with his psychologist. Along the way, Fonseca encounters all sorts of characters, some of whom help him and others who hinder, obstruct, and threaten.
I really like the Fonesca character, Kaminsky's writing and stories, and pretty much everything about the Fonesca series. The author has done fine work in developing the cast of characters and is adept at building plots that make sense for them. If you like low-key mysteries with good story lines, this is a nice series to get into.
Midnight Pass puts Fonesca in the middle of 2 situations. He's asked to locate a city board member who's MIA prior to a big vote on a development project. The missing board member, a rich old coot who is expected to vote one way, actually plans to vote consistent with the wishes of a local black activist. However, he has disappeared and is supposedly near death. Lew is also approached by a man, a friend of a friend, whose wife has left him for another man and has taken the young children as well. Fonseca accepts both challenges while also being on the hook to serve a couple legal documents and make his weekly chat with his psychologist. Along the way, Fonseca encounters all sorts of characters, some of whom help him and others who hinder, obstruct, and threaten.
I really like the Fonesca character, Kaminsky's writing and stories, and pretty much everything about the Fonesca series. The author has done fine work in developing the cast of characters and is adept at building plots that make sense for them. If you like low-key mysteries with good story lines, this is a nice series to get into.
December 26, 2011
Really sorry to be getting close to the end of this series and hoping Stanley Tucci decides to make movies out of the lot of them (he would make the perfect Lew Fonesca!)
March 2, 2008
This is the third or fourth book in his Lew Fonesca series. I really like Kaminsky’s writing style, his sense of place and character is artful and his plots are good. I read all of the series of novels he wrote set in Russia. Can’t remember the Russian police detective’s name right now, but they were all well worth reading. The Lew Fonesca novels are set in Sarasota Florida and are full of strong characters with realistic personalities.
July 25, 2012
Another fast ride for Lew Fonesca, who doesn't even like driving! Very interesting plotline of someone being held against their will so they can't vote on an issue, and the lengths people will go to have things go their way. Good thing Lew and friends are there to make right right, when they don't arrive too late!
August 18, 2010
I really liked this book. It is the third book in the series. It had been so long since I read the first 2 that I had to go back and skim through them to recall some of the history with ongoing characters. The story would have been as good if I had not done this though.
September 3, 2012
In Midnight Pass, the third Lew Fonesca Mystery, Lew helps a local minister find a town council member who has gone missing just before a crucial vote that could ruin a struggling community and a distraught father comes to him to track down his wife and kids who have disappeared.
September 22, 2009
Continuig the story of Lew Fonesca. Good tight book, and I really enjoy watching the changes in the characters.
June 16, 2010
Really liked this book - have never read Kaminsky but will definitely look out for some of his other books - especially ones with this character. Loved his gloomy, depressive demeanor and the wit.
February 23, 2014
I cannot help liking Lew Fonesca. This book was an interesting twist on life in Sarasota. Kaminsky keeps me reading to find out what is going to happen next with his characters.
June 14, 2014
This was the first book by Kaminsky I've read, and I look forward to reading more. I enjoyed the portrayal of local politics and I found the characters believable and the mystery intriguing.
August 8, 2016
A good Lew Fonesca story. He is hired to find a councilman gone missing before a big vote, and he helps nail a husband and wife murder duo. Recommended to fans of good mysteries.
April 16, 2020
I stopped this series after Book 2 a couple of years ago, but I was in the mood for the Sarasota setting, so I downloaded the audiobook from Overdrive to check out book 3. Much to my surprise, when I started playing the audiobook, it was nearly 45 minutes into the first track. That told me that I had previously downloaded it before, and then returned it after getting bored with it. No worries. I was probably just burned out on it then. Still, it was weird that I forgot about even starting it.
I am almost halfway through this book, and... life is too short, and there's so much to read. It's not like it's bad, but it just isn't doing anything for me and hasn't since the first book which had the benefit of character exposition. Some of it is me. I'm not generally as into mystery novels as I used to be. Also, there are some weird writing choices. After spending the equivalent of 3 pages on the protagonist shaving, he has an exchange with another character that goes like this, "I asked him if he knew any jokes. He told me one, and I wrote it down for later." I wonder if he tells us the joke later, because otherwise that's really weird to describe a character's mundane life to the details of shaving and then cut-to-the-chase to describe a joke but not even create a joke.
I don't often review unfinished books, and I even more seldom rate them. But, I tried this twice, and I want to have some reminders of why I don't need to try it again. In the end, this book fails my Florida rule. As a native Floridian who loves the state, I will read books just because they are set there, especially if it includes my native Gulf Coast area. The Florida rule is this, "Would I even give this book the time of day if it wasn't set in my home area?" The answer here is no.
I am almost halfway through this book, and... life is too short, and there's so much to read. It's not like it's bad, but it just isn't doing anything for me and hasn't since the first book which had the benefit of character exposition. Some of it is me. I'm not generally as into mystery novels as I used to be. Also, there are some weird writing choices. After spending the equivalent of 3 pages on the protagonist shaving, he has an exchange with another character that goes like this, "I asked him if he knew any jokes. He told me one, and I wrote it down for later." I wonder if he tells us the joke later, because otherwise that's really weird to describe a character's mundane life to the details of shaving and then cut-to-the-chase to describe a joke but not even create a joke.
I don't often review unfinished books, and I even more seldom rate them. But, I tried this twice, and I want to have some reminders of why I don't need to try it again. In the end, this book fails my Florida rule. As a native Floridian who loves the state, I will read books just because they are set there, especially if it includes my native Gulf Coast area. The Florida rule is this, "Would I even give this book the time of day if it wasn't set in my home area?" The answer here is no.
October 2, 2020
Going through a stake of Kaminsky books that have lingered too long. I really should have cleared his Florida-based books years ago. I forgot how good Kaminsky does writing of Sarasota county and beyond.
The book starts with the main character in a hospital. This is the biggest slip. Despite proclaiming the book will return to the hospital scene, unless I somehow missed it, the book never returns.
Otherwise, the book runs off in Kaminsky's typical Fonesca-Toby Peters-Abe Lieberman-style. Mystery + humor+movie references. Basically the three characters mentioned are mostly interchangeable. Returning to these series has me again wondering why Kaminsky didn't just make one series.
The plot is another death involving the rich with the poor to save the day and the police as a side issue. Kaminsky writes all of this very well. Despite characters being very similar and simplifying this with returning characters, all of the book does feel fresh.
The base mystery is very good with a bit of surprise. There is another mystery included which is inflated and that part ends in a very unrealistic and preposterous way.
The Florida setting: Kaminsky nails the US301 area, travels around Downtown Sarasota the area around the Ringing Museum. Knowing the area very well, he does an excellent job portraying. I easily followed Fonesca's travels.
The book starts with the main character in a hospital. This is the biggest slip. Despite proclaiming the book will return to the hospital scene, unless I somehow missed it, the book never returns.
Otherwise, the book runs off in Kaminsky's typical Fonesca-Toby Peters-Abe Lieberman-style. Mystery + humor+movie references. Basically the three characters mentioned are mostly interchangeable. Returning to these series has me again wondering why Kaminsky didn't just make one series.
The plot is another death involving the rich with the poor to save the day and the police as a side issue. Kaminsky writes all of this very well. Despite characters being very similar and simplifying this with returning characters, all of the book does feel fresh.
The base mystery is very good with a bit of surprise. There is another mystery included which is inflated and that part ends in a very unrealistic and preposterous way.
The Florida setting: Kaminsky nails the US301 area, travels around Downtown Sarasota the area around the Ringing Museum. Knowing the area very well, he does an excellent job portraying. I easily followed Fonesca's travels.
September 18, 2025
Sou grande fã do autor , ainda não li nada dele que não gostasse.
Genericamente, nesta serie, a decência prevalece. O herói é uma pessoa muito decente e humana, apesar dos seus problemas.
É uma leitura muito confortável para mim.
Genericamente, nesta serie, a decência prevalece. O herói é uma pessoa muito decente e humana, apesar dos seus problemas.
É uma leitura muito confortável para mim.
April 19, 2018
Molto buono. Una giusta miscela di giallo, con i suoi colpi di scena e rosa, con un pizzico di umanità.Personaggi indovinati.
March 17, 2019
Another excellent kaminsky detective novel. Likable well defined main character. Complex believable plot.
September 29, 2019
Enjoyed the characters, especially Lew and Ames. Nice plot.
Read
July 26, 2020I didn't finish
Read
July 4, 2021This book has been read and reviewed by our Book Club. It was an easy read, entertaining and enjoyed the Sarasota setting.
August 18, 2022
really good series and interesting story line.
April 19, 2024
Lew Fonesca needs to open up his own private investigation business. He’s so good at what he does even though trouble comes along the way.
January 2, 2025
really good series and interesting story line.
January 7, 2025
These Lew Fonesca mysteries are treasures.
August 13, 2025
Similar to Nelson DeMille
September 30, 2025
One of Kaminsky's best
February 24, 2014
This is my first Lew Fonesca novel and I will be reading more. The characters seem real and Fonesca is a likable guy, even though he hasn't been cast in a typical movie star crime solving characterization. You get to know him through the way he interacts with other people in the book. I like the way that he doggedly pursues the truth, in amongst breakfast, lunch, and supper. He buys gifts for his new friends while serving summons at a antique shop. Evolving personal relationships are developing at the same time as some interesting crime or crimes are being solved. His somewhat depressed personality helps keep him from getting hysterical while being shot at or threatened in some way. He has a heart of gold. The story holds some surprises too, which I like in a crime novel, although you have to pay attention because there is more than one story line going on here, and you can get confused with the names, but not too badly. This is a great read.
April 11, 2016
My first go at a Lew Fonesca novel and I enjoyed it. Mind you, I love Stuart Kaminsky's writing, but tend to favor some of his other series.
Lew reminded me of the Abe Lieberman character ( my personal favorite)-- kind of a hang-dog sad character filled with an underlying goodness and integrity that makes you root for him throughout the book. The story was fairly straightforward despite a twist at the end. But plot complexity isn't the glue that kept me turning pages. It's Kaminsky's ability to weave pathos and humor into a lovely fabric. One that you can curl up with for a comfy, if brief, interlude. I will happily read some more from this series.
Lew reminded me of the Abe Lieberman character ( my personal favorite)-- kind of a hang-dog sad character filled with an underlying goodness and integrity that makes you root for him throughout the book. The story was fairly straightforward despite a twist at the end. But plot complexity isn't the glue that kept me turning pages. It's Kaminsky's ability to weave pathos and humor into a lovely fabric. One that you can curl up with for a comfy, if brief, interlude. I will happily read some more from this series.
July 13, 2011
I have taken up Stuart Kaminsky this summer. In this one, set in Sarasota, Fla., reluctant detective and depressed guy Lew Fonesca gets tangled up in a plot to keep a county commissioner from voting not to open the Midnight Pass, some sort of canal/bayou thing. Or maybe it was to open it. Either way, the stakes are high.
The interest isn't, however, and the only reason I gave it three stars is it's well-done as far as it goes.
The interest isn't, however, and the only reason I gave it three stars is it's well-done as far as it goes.
April 24, 2012
Lew is a depressed guy, but he's not a depressing guy. I like that. The murders were dramatic but not overdone for shock value. I like that too. I'll be looking for more Kaminsky mysteries to pass the time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews