Deadly Pleasures

HEAD WOUNDS by Chris Knopf (The Permanent Press, $28.00, May, 2008). Rating: A-

The third Sam Acquillo mystery set at the end of Long Island in the Hamptons. Sam is a drop-out from the corporate rat-race, living in a modest cottage left to him by his parents. He does odd carpentry jobs to keep food on the table (and in the doggy dish) and a steady supply of alcohol to feed his habit. And he still drives a 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix and when he needs a phone, finds the last standing pay phone in Suffolk County. In other words, he has no use for the Internet, blackberries, Tivo, or the latest in designer dark glasses and lives by Porgy's maxim: "I got plenty of nothing and nothings plenty for me." And therein lies his charm, for he is a kind and intelligent man with simple needs, one who attracts loyal friends who come to his aid in times of trouble. And this is one of those times, for Sam is accused of murdering a real estate developer who was pestering Sam's girl friend to go into a real estate development project with him. Sam's fingerprints are on the murder weapon and his footprints are found near the body. So he and his team have a lot of work to do to prove his innocence.

Sam makes for an interesting protagonist because he is stubborn and unpredictable - also very smart. In other words, a nightmare for his gorgeous attorney to control. Being an old born-and-raised Long Island boy, I quite enjoyed the setting of this novel, which Chris Knopf evokes with loving detail. But what I liked most about HEAD WOUNDS is the intelligent writing, which entertained me on every page. Chris Knopf deserves a wide audience.

This is one of those series published by a relatively small press that surpasses in quality a lot of what is being published by the big boys. Seek it out. You can't miss its striking cover. You'll thank me.

- George Easter