Angus Green Series Books 1-3
About this ebook
Assigned to South Florida for his first posting, Angus Green is worlds away from his hardscrabble upbringing in Scranton, PA. He has to cope with ethnic distinctions he's never considered, a multitude of foreign languages spoken around him, and a range of crimes and criminals that boggles his mind.
While investigating a jewelry heist with its roots in Fort Lauderdale's gay neighborhoods, Angus must learn how to use his education, his intelligence and his good looks without losing track of who he is and what he stands for. The street quickly teaches him that the only way to face a challenge is to assume that he'll survive this one--that it'll be the next one that will kill him.
In his second case, Angus discovers that gay teens are being sexually abused by a pornographer in the same neighborhood where he lives, and he has to bring his intelligence, his determination and his unique insights to save these young men.
The case takes him from Fort Lauderdale's seamy underbelly to boisterous beachfront bars where big-fish Russian emigres launder illegal cash. He'll befriend a beautiful Russian-American undercover agent and rekindle a romance with a man who makes him feel protected. In the end, he'll learn the truth of a saying he learned as a boy -- there is a price to pay for every decision we make. Nobody rides for free.
In the third installment in the series, Fort Lauderdale retiree Frank Sena is working with pawn shop owner Jesse Venable to retrieve a painting stolen from Frank’s uncle, a gay Venetian killed during the Holocaust. Angus volunteers to help Frank, and discovers Venable is the subject of a task force looking into smuggling immigrants out of war-torn countries in the Middle East.
Angus, who knows nothing about art and speaks no Italian, may be in over his head as he is assigned to befriend, and ultimately betray, Venable. But with the help of his Italian-speaking brother and his art-loving boyfriend, he may be able not only to retrieve the painting, but solve a smuggling case and potentially save thousands of lives. The investigation will take him from the sun-drenched rooftops of Venice to a private yacht speeding down Fort Lauderdale’s New River. Along the way, he’ll learn the true meaning of survival.
Kirkus Reviews says, "Plakcy's characters... charm" and Publishers Weekly writes "readers will look forward to seeing a lot more of Angus."
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About the author
I've wanted to be an author since I was about sixteen, when a high school assignment on A Separate Peace showed me how powerful writing can be. At the University of Pennsylvania I studied creative writing with Philip Roth and Carlos Fuentes; I went on to receive my MFA from Florida International University.
My first published novel was Mahu, about a Honolulu homicide detective dragged out of the closet during a tough case. I put a lot of myself into Kimo Kanapa'aka, the hero, and yet he’s very much his own character, and much better than I am! He has had a powerful hold on my imagination for many years. I love writing about him and hope to keep doing so for a long time. He’s also the source of my favorite reader question. A few years ago, someone emailed to ask if he was circumcised.
My first reaction was “Man, I’ll bet Stephen King doesn’t get questions like that.” But then, his are probably even weirder. I went online and did some research and discovered that at the time Kimo was born, hospital circumcisions were common. So there you go.
My path to publication was a long and checkered one, as is the case with many authors. My first published stories were magazine erotica, and I still like to keep my hand in (no pun intended) with that kind of writing. But for the most part now I write mystery and romance—all my books seem to have both those elements, though in different proportions.
I began writing the golden retriever mysteries because I spent so much time walking my golden, Samwise (yes, I’m a Tolkien geek). He had so many funny habits and such a strong personality that I just knew I had to write a book that featured a dog like him. (Fortunately, Sam had no habit of finding dead bodies.)
I live in Hollywood, Florida now, with my partner and our golden retrievers, Brody and Griffin.
