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Review of BERMUDA GRASS by Keith MilesPoisoned Pen Press, 2002 When golf pro Alan Saxon is hired to help build a golf course for a hotel in Bermuda, he decides to turn it into a vacation--taking his college-aged daughter with him. When he arrives in Bermuda, however, he finds that the golf course has run into problems. At first he dismisses the idea of sabotage--but when a murder victim ends up hanging in the middle of the course, he isn't so sure. When someone raises the stakes and attacks Saxon's family, he decides to spring into action and get to the bottom of the case--no matter who gets hurt. Author Keith Miles sets up an intriguing mystery with beautiful Bermuda as the backdrop. The hotel where Saxon is staying is the result of a bidding war that left a lot of angry parties behind--and it is possible that someone is trying to get their revenge. Of course, the murder victim wasn't exactly Mr. Personality, so possibly it's nothing more than coincidence that this is happening on the golf course. I found Saxon himself to be unsympathetic. While his anger at his ex-wife was occasionally amusing and made him more human, it was also unlikable. As was his treatment of his new girlfriend, Nancy (would he have been as cool if she had been younger than him rather than older?). Obviously not especially liking the protagonist makes it harder to get into the mystery. Miles is a talented writer and the mystery definitely got me hooked so I am happy to recommend this novel--but I hope that Saxon gets a bit of a personality transplant before we see him again. Two Stars
Purchase BERMUDA GRASS from Amazon.com (hardback).
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