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An Alex Rutledge Mystery #2
Gumbo Limbo
Alex Rutledge, freelance and part-time Key West crime scene photographer, awakes to his first day off in months. Late August, the off-season, the dog days. Everything's okay until his phone rings. His old navy buddy, Zack Cahill, now a successful Chicago banker, is in town and, at 8:00 a.m., drunk in Sloppy Joe's. Zack demands that Rutledge join him for a celebratory beer. When Alex arrives at the bar, eight minutes later, Cahill is gone.
The day continues downhill. A high-noon murder in the tourist district, the ransacked apartment of a local bartender, and the chance encounter of Abby Womack, Cahill's ex-mistress, combine to convince Alex that Zach Cahill's disappearance may be linked to all of these events. An overnight fire and a drive-by shooting the next morning amplify the strangeness and danger.
By calling in favors from a crew of Key West characters, stepping aside of law enforcement, and traveling to New Orleans in an attempt to help his friend, Rutledge will fall deep into a mysterious range war, a fight for the profits from a twenty-year-old smuggling deal.
The day continues downhill. A high-noon murder in the tourist district, the ransacked apartment of a local bartender, and the chance encounter of Abby Womack, Cahill's ex-mistress, combine to convince Alex that Zach Cahill's disappearance may be linked to all of these events. An overnight fire and a drive-by shooting the next morning amplify the strangeness and danger.
By calling in favors from a crew of Key West characters, stepping aside of law enforcement, and traveling to New Orleans in an attempt to help his friend, Rutledge will fall deep into a mysterious range war, a fight for the profits from a twenty-year-old smuggling deal.
293 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 13, 1999
108 people are currently reading
634 people want to read
About the author
Tom Corcoran
70 books101 followersThere is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
Tom Corcoran first moved to Florida in 1970. He has been a disc jockey, bartender, AAA travel counselor, U. S. Navy officer, screenwriter, freelance photographer, automotive magazine editor, computer graphic artist, and journalist.
Tom Corcoran first moved to Florida in 1970. He has been a disc jockey, bartender, AAA travel counselor, U. S. Navy officer, screenwriter, freelance photographer, automotive magazine editor, computer graphic artist, and journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
June 7, 2020
Quirky but entertaining to any South Floridian. Fresh and caught me off guard several times. Pleasantly surprised.
July 28, 2013
When I was younger, any time I read a thriller what stood out to me was the plot. If it moved like an express train, it was great. Taking time to set up characters or create a mood or set a scene seemed like a waste of time. But now that I'm older, I really treasure the thrillers that work hard to build a world. Ace Atkins does a superb job of it, and so does Lee Child. The master, I think, is Tom Corcoran. His portrait of Key West makes you really feel like you're there, and the characters he describes all seem like people who would be living there, not creations set up just to propel a plot.
This is the second of Corcoran's thrillers featuring photographer Alex Rutledge, and the third one I've read. Its plot hinges on a pretty big coincidence, but Corcoran does a great job of making it seem like a logical thing to happen as part of the story.
The plot is classic Florida: former dope smugglers who have been waiting for a big payoff and the man who controls the cash suddenly disappears. He's a friend of Rutledge, who then takes it on himself to try to find what became of his friend. Before he gets to the end, a man's killed in front of the Conch Train, someone tries to break into Rutledge's house and gets shot by an elderly neighbor and a lot of other twists and turns occur. But the most vivid character in the book is an apparently homeless bum who has a big secret that Rutledge figured out a long time ago, and now exploits to get info he needs. It's a nicely done turn on the usual street-smart informant character.
All in all, this is another interesting thriller from Corcoran and I fully intend to read the whole series.
This is the second of Corcoran's thrillers featuring photographer Alex Rutledge, and the third one I've read. Its plot hinges on a pretty big coincidence, but Corcoran does a great job of making it seem like a logical thing to happen as part of the story.
The plot is classic Florida: former dope smugglers who have been waiting for a big payoff and the man who controls the cash suddenly disappears. He's a friend of Rutledge, who then takes it on himself to try to find what became of his friend. Before he gets to the end, a man's killed in front of the Conch Train, someone tries to break into Rutledge's house and gets shot by an elderly neighbor and a lot of other twists and turns occur. But the most vivid character in the book is an apparently homeless bum who has a big secret that Rutledge figured out a long time ago, and now exploits to get info he needs. It's a nicely done turn on the usual street-smart informant character.
All in all, this is another interesting thriller from Corcoran and I fully intend to read the whole series.
May 27, 2016
This book was so enjoyable because it portrayed a slice of authentic Key West life; however, there were too many characters who were too similar, and I had a hard time telling them apart. The premise of the story was rather convoluted and not fully explained: I won't give anything away by saying it all hinged on some sort of trust agreement among drug dealers to dole out their ill-gotten profits many years after the fact - a rather silly basis for the storyline, I thought. Nevertheless, Corcoran's recurring Alex Rutledge protagonist was a good and likeable guy. Call this a "potato chip" book for those interested in Florida life. :-]
March 22, 2017
Slow start.... took a long time to get into.... but once it got going was pretty face paced.
June 17, 2012
One of my favorite of the Alex Rutledge series. I love the beginning, "This time I had good intentions." Haven't we all thought that.
March 21, 2019
Not much more to be said. Other reviewers have covered the points. The description of Key West and a feel for the place really comes across. However the author has gone overboard with the number of characters and implausible plot shifts. In the end I just wanted the book to finish and no longer really cared who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. Not sure I'll read another in this series.
June 16, 2022
I had high hopes for this book but it never met my expectations. The plot was convoluted and seemed a new murder every chapter of some shady character. I was hoping that the plot set in the Keys written by a FL resident would have a bit more flavor of the area. This is the first and last of this series I will read. I should have stopped after the first couple of chapters but hoped it would get better and it never did. I will say that all the loose ends were tied up by the end,
May 15, 2018
While not my normal "genteel" mystery this was cool. A bit violent but set in Key West which makes up for a lot. Rutledge makes an interesting hero. This particular story was a bit challenging to follow with lots of twists and turns and humidity. In the end it settled out. I think I'm up for more.
July 10, 2017
This series is a supremely satisfying summer read. Corcoran really puts you in the Florida Keys with the laid back, boozy atmosphere. I'm not sure I entirely followed the plot of this one, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
November 27, 2023
A fine page turner. I love the Key West locations and characters, with a quick trip to New Orleans thrown in, too. The plot was a little convoluted, but he pretty well tied it all up in the end. Fun stuff!
October 29, 2024
Pretty good. Would have appreciated a map of Key West since I am not a local. Sort of Carl Hiaasen but without the humor or the zaniness. Still, a fast-paced, complicated plot with a lot of women to keep straight.
June 17, 2017
a good read
recommended
recommended
June 26, 2018
I should have abandoned this book after the first couple of chapters.
March 1, 2019
A crazy murderous romp through the underside of Key West in the doldrums of August. Good book for vacation travel.
March 3, 2019
Didn’t finish. Uninterested in plot.
May 27, 2019
Great book always fun to escape to the Keys and have a mystery to solve.
July 30, 2022
Wise cracks galore, too many in fact….too many names to remember…not one of my favs
August 17, 2023
Always a fun read in key West, but the final wrap up seemed confusing and rushed.
February 9, 2024
Read while on vacation in Key West. It was fun to have seen or been to the places where the story takes place
March 19, 2018
My first Corcoran book (and his second). The writing is Sam Spade Hard-boiled ummm Key West Beach Bum photographer tough. (Well, it is.)
Corcoran can write and the action moves along and the reader really gets a feel for what living in Key West year round must be like. .....
.... And then about 2/3 of the way through I totally lost track of who was who because Corcoran introduces more characters per 100 pages than Charles Dickens. Then the bad guys begin acting like good guys and the good guys break all kinds of laws and it ends in an unlikely mess.
Still, I am willing to try one of his later books.
Corcoran can write and the action moves along and the reader really gets a feel for what living in Key West year round must be like. .....
.... And then about 2/3 of the way through I totally lost track of who was who because Corcoran introduces more characters per 100 pages than Charles Dickens. Then the bad guys begin acting like good guys and the good guys break all kinds of laws and it ends in an unlikely mess.
Still, I am willing to try one of his later books.
January 16, 2015
I love love LOVE the way Tom Corcoran writes about Key West, and his characters are wonderful. Flawed, real, and still mostly the type of people you'd like to sit down and have a drink with in Louie's Backyard. That said, this book didn't really grab me the way his first Alex Rutledge mystery, The Mango Opera, did. The plot was super convoluted, especially towards the last fifty pages I kind of found myself tuned out. However, I will continue on to #3, because I love the main hero Alex and Corcoran's descriptions of the Island City.
April 16, 2012
Not sure if I would have enjoyed this book as much if I wasn't visiting so many of the sites he mentions as I read it. But the writing was good, the characters interesting, and the descriptions vivid, so what the hell. And he's a long-time personal friend of Jimmy Buffett (he shot the covers of many of his albums), so he's earned a pass on his sly dropping of lines from Buffett songs into the text.
February 15, 2013
Gumbo Limbo by Tom Corcoran - I liked this book quite a bit. It had a really good story, it kept me guessing all the way through. I'll be looking forward to reading the next book in this series.January 31, 2015
Hard to follow with all of the underground and cop slang.
Sprinkled liberally with undeveloped characters and old/local? language which caused lack of understanding and interest on my part.
It was work just to try to figure out what all of the seedy, dying off characters were saying and doing to each other.
Sprinkled liberally with undeveloped characters and old/local? language which caused lack of understanding and interest on my part.
It was work just to try to figure out what all of the seedy, dying off characters were saying and doing to each other.
August 17, 2010
Good mystery - and the Keys - this man is a HUGE fan of Jimmy Buffett - and you'll feel the island breezes as he writes.
Some mysteries have characters that aren't human - in this case, the Keys themselves are the non-human character. Straight up mysteries - wonderfully done.
Some mysteries have characters that aren't human - in this case, the Keys themselves are the non-human character. Straight up mysteries - wonderfully done.
June 7, 2011
If you are looking for a great beach read, I love this. Having lived in Florida, I love how he writes so that you experience Key West through your senses. I highly recommend brewing a pot of Cafe Bustelo and enjoying this summer!
August 27, 2014
Oh, YES! I needed a good murder mystery. This one might have been too convoluted to follow every plot twist but I liked the characters enough not to care. Oh, and it was set in Key West in the summer and I can relate
February 16, 2014
Because I am so familiar with Key West I loved reading about Louie's Backyard, Duval St. Sloppy Joe's and could picture everything. However the plot was confusing and so many characters that I was usually lost.
March 14, 2016
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6...
Great mystery set in Key West, Florida. There are a lot of weird/eccentric characters. Alex spends most of the time trying to figure out what's going on, who are the bad guys or good guys. Really good descriptions of Key west.
Great mystery set in Key West, Florida. There are a lot of weird/eccentric characters. Alex spends most of the time trying to figure out what's going on, who are the bad guys or good guys. Really good descriptions of Key west.
March 25, 2016
Any story taking place in Key West is guaranteed to be stuffed with atmosphere, lots of references to famous places. Everything to make the reader relate. But the story is interesting, the puzzle intriguing, the solution a little confusing but acceptable. The hero is pretty neat.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews