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Fred Carver #1
Tropical Heat
Forced into early retirement by a bullet to the knee, ex-cop Fred Carver undertakes a missing persons case that quickly places him in mortal danger
When the criminal’s bullet shattered his knee, Fred Carver’s colleagues called him lucky. Between his pension and the insurance check, they said, he had a nice, easy retirement to look forward to. But Fred Carver would rather have his knee. His career finished, his marriage over, he takes a halfhearted stab at private detective work, and is already sick of it by the time he meets Edwina Talbot, a beautiful woman who wants him to find her dead lover.
Of course, Edwina doesn’t believe her lover is actually dead. Every piece of evidence at the crime scene pointed to suicide, but as far a she’s concerned her man is just missing and Fred Carver is going to bring him back. Carver wants nothing to do with it, but he can’t say no to a little adventure. Some men just aren’t built for taking it easy.
Tropical Heat is the 1st book in the Fred Carver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1986
72 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
John Lutz
234 books300 followersLibrarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
John Lutz has captivated suspense enthusiasts for over four decades. He has been one of the premier voices in contemporary hard-boiled fiction. His work includes political suspense, private eye novels, urban suspense, humor, occult, crime caper, police procedural, espionage, historical, futuristic, amateur detective, thriller; virtually every mystery sub-genre. John Lutz published his first short story in 1966 in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and has been publishing regularly ever since. He is the author of more than fifty novels and 250 short stories and articles.
His novels and short fiction have been translated into virtually every language and adapted for almost every medium. He is a past president of both Mystery Writers of America and Private Eye Writers of America. Among his awards are the MWA Edgar, the PWA Shamus, The Trophee 813 Award for best mystery short story collection translated into the French language, the PWA Life Achievement Award, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Golden Derringer Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is the author of two private eye series, the Nudger series, set in his home town of St. Louis, and the Carver series, set in Florida, as well as many non-series suspense novels. His SWF SEEKS SAME was made into the hit movie SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and his novel THE EX was made into the HBO original movie of the same title, for which he co-authored the screenplay.
Lutz and his wife, Barbara, split their time between St. Louis and Sarasota, Florida.
John Lutz has captivated suspense enthusiasts for over four decades. He has been one of the premier voices in contemporary hard-boiled fiction. His work includes political suspense, private eye novels, urban suspense, humor, occult, crime caper, police procedural, espionage, historical, futuristic, amateur detective, thriller; virtually every mystery sub-genre. John Lutz published his first short story in 1966 in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and has been publishing regularly ever since. He is the author of more than fifty novels and 250 short stories and articles.
His novels and short fiction have been translated into virtually every language and adapted for almost every medium. He is a past president of both Mystery Writers of America and Private Eye Writers of America. Among his awards are the MWA Edgar, the PWA Shamus, The Trophee 813 Award for best mystery short story collection translated into the French language, the PWA Life Achievement Award, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Golden Derringer Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is the author of two private eye series, the Nudger series, set in his home town of St. Louis, and the Carver series, set in Florida, as well as many non-series suspense novels. His SWF SEEKS SAME was made into the hit movie SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and his novel THE EX was made into the HBO original movie of the same title, for which he co-authored the screenplay.
Lutz and his wife, Barbara, split their time between St. Louis and Sarasota, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
June 27, 2013
It's been about ten years since I read my first John Lutz and decided I wouldn't read another Lutz book. Years have passed, some perspective has changed, reading habits altered. I thought I'd give another one a try.
Oops! This book reminded me of my reasoning years ago. Though there is a good mystery stuck in the 246 pages, it's a bit tough to get to with all else it's sunk into. This complaint isn't along the lines of my standard complaint of over writing that is common more today than when this was published in 1986. The extraneous story is fine, actually, and fits in the plot. It's just that, plainly, the writing stinks.
But, wait, there's more! Far more of a complaint is that Lutz set the story in an area he has little to no knowledge of. I remember this with the last book I read that was set in Florida. Years have gone by and I know my state far, far better now. His attempt to depict Florida is horrendous. Throughout the book most everything about the state, no matter where the plot wanders, has some mention of Disney World. That is a place he apparently knows about, though no part of the book actually is set there, nor could it, knowing how the Disney complex would put a cease and desist involving such an effort.
To get around not knowing about Florida, Lutz makes up cities and then drapes around a lot of typical stereotypes that most Snowbirds would know is ludicrous. There are constant drives from a coast in Florida to Orlando that make it appear as if the trip is only twenty minutes long and no traffic issues. Even in '86 there were traffic issues getting from any east coast beach area to Orlando and back again. Then a "relatively short trip" to the University of Florida in Gainesville. that's easily a two hour trip and, even then navigating through the U of F campus is not easy. Not that Lutz had to get into those details, but to shrug it off as a "short trip" is silly.
There are lots and lots of examples of ignorance of Florida. The worse may be his understanding of airboats. Airboats are very, very loud. Lutz obviously doesn't know that and it really screws up reading a pivotal part of the book.
Even a few phone calls, consulting a map, a peek into an encyclopedia about locations could have solved the mess of location depiction. With this lack of knowledge of location, the descriptions of settings are limited and feel empty.
There is a good mystery here. It's just not well written and not a book I can recommend.
Oops! This book reminded me of my reasoning years ago. Though there is a good mystery stuck in the 246 pages, it's a bit tough to get to with all else it's sunk into. This complaint isn't along the lines of my standard complaint of over writing that is common more today than when this was published in 1986. The extraneous story is fine, actually, and fits in the plot. It's just that, plainly, the writing stinks.
But, wait, there's more! Far more of a complaint is that Lutz set the story in an area he has little to no knowledge of. I remember this with the last book I read that was set in Florida. Years have gone by and I know my state far, far better now. His attempt to depict Florida is horrendous. Throughout the book most everything about the state, no matter where the plot wanders, has some mention of Disney World. That is a place he apparently knows about, though no part of the book actually is set there, nor could it, knowing how the Disney complex would put a cease and desist involving such an effort.
To get around not knowing about Florida, Lutz makes up cities and then drapes around a lot of typical stereotypes that most Snowbirds would know is ludicrous. There are constant drives from a coast in Florida to Orlando that make it appear as if the trip is only twenty minutes long and no traffic issues. Even in '86 there were traffic issues getting from any east coast beach area to Orlando and back again. Then a "relatively short trip" to the University of Florida in Gainesville. that's easily a two hour trip and, even then navigating through the U of F campus is not easy. Not that Lutz had to get into those details, but to shrug it off as a "short trip" is silly.
There are lots and lots of examples of ignorance of Florida. The worse may be his understanding of airboats. Airboats are very, very loud. Lutz obviously doesn't know that and it really screws up reading a pivotal part of the book.
Even a few phone calls, consulting a map, a peek into an encyclopedia about locations could have solved the mess of location depiction. With this lack of knowledge of location, the descriptions of settings are limited and feel empty.
There is a good mystery here. It's just not well written and not a book I can recommend.
March 23, 2023
I read Frank Quinn series some time back by Lutz which I quite like. I will say I enjoyed the first book in the Carver series it was a nice fast pace action packed with a touch of romance read. Looking forward to reading more in the series.
January 30, 2019
Good Introduction!
Tropical Heat is the first book of the Fred Carver Mystery series. The book is filled with suspense and twists and turns and surprisingly, a lot of great humor.
Tropical Heat is the first book of the Fred Carver Mystery series. The book is filled with suspense and twists and turns and surprisingly, a lot of great humor.
June 15, 2022
Fred Carver is an interesting and believable character, and you instantly like and trust him. He is an ex-cop forced to retire because he was shot in the knee—during a robbery in a store in which he was a customer and must now walk with a cane—and now works as a PI. This book focuses on the disappearance of a real estate salesman who has disappeared, the police believe he committed suicide by jumping from a cliff near his girlfriend’s house overlooking the ocean with the ocean taking his body away. His girlfriend does not believe he is dead and hires Fred Carver to find out what happened to him. The first part of the book is basic police procedural, talking to friends, colleagues, and the police forensic expert. The real estate manager confides that he has discovered Willis was scamming the company for thousands of dollars and was likely hiding with a pal in Solarville near Florida’s Everglades. This leads all concerned to believe that the defrauded money was to be used to buy drugs. The events that transpire in Solarville—Carver’s motel room set on fire and later being almost killed by a knife-wielding assassin—convince the authorities they are on the correct trail. There is a lot of action and misdirection before the truth finally is revealed. I was a bit disappointed at the ending, but it was an interesting read and well written.
February 12, 2012
This is a new author for me, and I will be reading more. I like the detective, a flawed and believable hero. And who doesn't like reading about Florida (as long as I don't have to live there)? The story has romance, a complex mystery, and the violence isn't gross. As a writer, I appreciate the talent of crafting good dialogue and Lutz is a fine example.
October 27, 2017
Flat story, flatter characters. Didn't care what happened at all, just couldn't get invested. Would have rated a 2 as I didn't HATE it, I just didn't care for it, but rated down for the copy I had, which isn't the fault of the author (I assume). I got a copy off of Internet Archives (my 3rd book off there) and whoever converted it to ebook format needs to be fired or something, it was almost unreadable. Sentences would start in the middle of words, and paragraphs, who knows how many, were missing. Like one time he was going to see her with an update, and next paragraph is the middle of a sentence covering the next morning.
Very confusing, very poorly done. Not authors fault, but bad none the less and made a crappy story worse.
Oh and don't get me started on the idea of WDW building a park in the Everglades. :/ Grrrrrr.
Very confusing, very poorly done. Not authors fault, but bad none the less and made a crappy story worse.
Oh and don't get me started on the idea of WDW building a park in the Everglades. :/ Grrrrrr.
May 8, 2024
I found this a fun and engaging romp even though, as another reviewer points out, the author gets some details of place off. However you do need to keep in mind this was published in 1986 so one reviewer criticizes the plot involving drives from Orlando to a coastal area as being a quick jaunt vs the hour + it really is but while this is inaccurate I will say having lived near Orlando from 1981-85 there was a lot less traffic than now. And a key scene which features airboats navigating a swampy area acknowledged their intense noise but tries to explain away how that fact still allowed for a surveillance and arrest operation. Another reader found this beyond belief such that it detracts from the story.
I didn’t experience it that way and enjoyed this hardboiled P. I. adventure a lot
I didn’t experience it that way and enjoyed this hardboiled P. I. adventure a lot
May 8, 2020
Loved his series with New York detective John Quinn--had no idea he had earlier series. This one was kind of a bore, but I like his style of writing. Now that I am in lockdown I can re-read some of his others.
May 23, 2020
An intriguing story that was really hard to put down.
It has all the ingredients for a compelling story: fascinating characters, an unpredictable plot that does not depend on the characters doing stuff for the story line. I plan to read more by John Lutz.
It has all the ingredients for a compelling story: fascinating characters, an unpredictable plot that does not depend on the characters doing stuff for the story line. I plan to read more by John Lutz.
February 4, 2018
Fun, quick read.
Hits most of the stereotypes of PI and femme fatale. Holds up moderately well to age. Book was written in 1986.
Hits most of the stereotypes of PI and femme fatale. Holds up moderately well to age. Book was written in 1986.
February 4, 2021
If you are into the old-fashioned hard-boiled private detective this is for you.
This is the first of a series, and one of the author's earlier works, so it might seem a little dated for some.
This is the first of a series, and one of the author's earlier works, so it might seem a little dated for some.
November 28, 2015
The early Lutz is the best, before he went "commercial" (and I'm not knocking that; the man deserves every bit of his success).
The Fred Carver books were seemingly written in a frenzy of inspiration. Lutz was on a roll.
Carver is a former Orlando cop who was wounded in a convenience store holdup. He walks with a cane. He has taken his disability money and bought a beach cottage in the small town of Del Moray (which is a thinly disguised Cocoa Beach or maybe Melbourne), and he has reluctantly become a P.I.
This first book introduces us to a complex and taciturn man who, in spite of his reluctance, can't lose the desire to "protect and serve." The plot is intriguing, the characters are superbly drawn, and the mood is hard core Florida noir with a good dose of wry humor.
In subsequent Carver books, you'll meet the greatest character Lutz has ever created, the despicable and hilarious Lieutenant McGregor of the Del Moray police department. The man is corrupt to the bone, yet we can't wait for his scenes. He never fails to amuse.
There were 10 Fred Carver novels, 1986 to 1996, all of them top rate crime fiction. I've read them all twice. That's how good they are.
If you're a fan of Florida Noir, this is where it all began, along with Charles Willeford.
The Fantastic Fiction web site in the UK has the books listed in order. For the uninitiated, I suggest starting with this one and reading them in order. You'll burn through them and wish for more.
The Fred Carver books were seemingly written in a frenzy of inspiration. Lutz was on a roll.
Carver is a former Orlando cop who was wounded in a convenience store holdup. He walks with a cane. He has taken his disability money and bought a beach cottage in the small town of Del Moray (which is a thinly disguised Cocoa Beach or maybe Melbourne), and he has reluctantly become a P.I.
This first book introduces us to a complex and taciturn man who, in spite of his reluctance, can't lose the desire to "protect and serve." The plot is intriguing, the characters are superbly drawn, and the mood is hard core Florida noir with a good dose of wry humor.
In subsequent Carver books, you'll meet the greatest character Lutz has ever created, the despicable and hilarious Lieutenant McGregor of the Del Moray police department. The man is corrupt to the bone, yet we can't wait for his scenes. He never fails to amuse.
There were 10 Fred Carver novels, 1986 to 1996, all of them top rate crime fiction. I've read them all twice. That's how good they are.
If you're a fan of Florida Noir, this is where it all began, along with Charles Willeford.
The Fantastic Fiction web site in the UK has the books listed in order. For the uninitiated, I suggest starting with this one and reading them in order. You'll burn through them and wish for more.
April 18, 2014
Tropical Heat is the first Fred Carver book in a series of ten published between 1986 and 1996. Carver is a somewhat reluctant private investigator who hobbles about with a cane (that doubles as a weapon) due to a gammy leg. Set in central Florida, the story is a typical PI tale of finding a missing person who doesn’t want to be found, who has a more complex back story than originally thought, and the PI and woman hiring him becoming romantically involved. Whilst there are a number of action sequences as Carver tangles with a deadly gang, the tale felt more like an episode of The Rockford Files than Miami Vice; more small screen than big screen. It was an interesting enough read, but never really fully captured the imagination. This wasn’t helped by the fact that I simply didn't believe in the fledgling romance and the way in which Carver engineers it. The ending had a reasonable twist, but involved a leap of faith and an unnecessary rush in order to create a tension point. Overall, a solid enough, run-of-the-mill start to a series.
February 14, 2015
Love Florida as a location but I'm getting sick of the PI clichés and this book was riddled with them.
I did like the way Caver used his strengths to overcome his handicap elevating it from just a stock plot-device but the end was a little too Holmes-ian: the PI just revealing everything he figured out from information we weren’t privy to.
Wasn’t bad, didn’t hate it but I probably won’t continue with the series.
I did like the way Caver used his strengths to overcome his handicap elevating it from just a stock plot-device but the end was a little too Holmes-ian: the PI just revealing everything he figured out from information we weren’t privy to.
Wasn’t bad, didn’t hate it but I probably won’t continue with the series.
November 15, 2012
Lutz spent more time describing the scene and other things that didn't add anything to the story (getting in a car, driving around, taking a shower, all the patrons in a diner) than he did telling me anything meaningful about the story. It's not difficult to fill 218 pages when you go into painstaking detail about trivial information.
February 16, 2012
My first John Lutz book. I enjoyed it enough to want to read more by this author and to read more in the Carver series...although I thought there were a few things that were far fetched in the book.
Betsy
Betsy
April 25, 2012
Shot in the knee trying to stop a convenience store robbery, Carver was retired from the Orlando police and doing private investigations. Hired to find a missing person presumed dead, he is almost murdered twice.
May 14, 2012
I read this some years ago, and didn't write much about it, but I noted that I would read more in the series, so I must have "really liked it". And I have read at least one more in the Fred Carver series.
July 19, 2013
Very Good; Continuing character: Fred Carver (first in series); a former cop wounded in the line of duty takes on a case as a PI, working to find a real estate agent who may, or may not, have killed himself by jumping into the sea
April 7, 2012
I found the book a little dull but persevered until the end. It's easy reading but a little clumsily written.
May 1, 2012
okay book. Prefer the Quinn series.
Read
June 28, 2012I really liked the writing, the characters, and the story. I'm going to read the rest of the series. And it is set in Florida!
August 6, 2012
This is more like a 3.5 than a 3. Good plot. Good read. Plot twist at end that was unexpected.
January 2, 2013
Interesting detective with unexpected plot twists. Loved setting is in Florida.
April 23, 2013
Orlando crime fiction.
March 5, 2014
Anyone who thinks this is muddled writing doesn't understand good prose. This is a great book.
Read
April 6, 2014Keeps you hooked til the very end every time. P.I. thriller/mystery.
January 23, 2016
I enjoyed the story very much. This is hard-boiled mystery and I did not expect to enjoy it that much. I am now a Carver's fan.
February 27, 2012
It was an alright book. Quick read...but I definitely skimmed a lot.
July 14, 2015
film noir
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews