Rating: 
Summary: Met the Author and Read the BOOK - EXCELLENT WRITING STYLE
Review: I met Andy at a bookstore in Columbus GA.. Had him sign the book and read it in one sitting. I review for a number of magazines monthly.. This book.. is without a doubt a winner on all accounts. cannot wait till his next in this series.. He is going to be a hit in this genre
Rating:
Summary: Met the Author and Read the BOOK - EXCELLENT WRITING STYLE
Review: I met Andy at a bookstore in Columbus GA.. Had him sign the book and read it in one sitting. I review for a number of magazines monthly.. This book.. is without a doubt a winner on all accounts. cannot wait till his next in this series.. He is going to be a hit in this genre
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: I met the author when I bought the book. He seemed to be a nice guy, that's the reason I bought it. I'm glad I did. I read the book in about three days. Looking forward to the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I met the author when I bought the book. He seemed to be a nice guy, that's the reason I bought it. I'm glad I did. I read the book in about three days. Looking forward to the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Promising beginning, fascinating falconry
Review: I'm a big fan of PI novels, and since I'm always looking for something a little different, I picked this book up primarily because the detective was a falconer. Not that I have a particular interest in falconry; it just made the book stand out from the other paperbacks on the rack. And indeed, Frank Pavlicek's hobby was a great component of the story, and I learned a lot. The main story - Frank stumbles upon a corpse, and it turns out his daughter knew the murdered young man - is nicely plotted and suspenseful. My only gripe is that I wish the writing had been a little snappier. Straka has a way to go until he reaches the level of a Pronzini or Grafton. But will I be keeping an eye out for future Pavlicek adventures? You bet.
Rating:
Summary: Great new P-I series
Review: Mr. Straka's first book in the Frank Pavlicek series offers the reader a variety of adventures. Pavlicek, a former NYC detective, and his former partner(s) resettle with their families in small-town Virginia after being railroaded off the force for their part in a teen's death resulting from a cop shooting. After his marriage fails in the new setting, Pavlicek moves to Charlottesville where he sets up his PI shop, and develops a taste for falconry. Years later when his hunting bird discovers a dead body and Pavlicek spots evidence that apparently connects the deceased black (drug dealing?) teen with his daughter, Pavlicek is thrust back into family life with all the joys of dealing with his alcoholic former wife and rebellious teenage daughter. As evidence mounts against his daughter, Pavlicek's determination increases. Can Pavlicek and his hawk rise to the occasion? The reader will recognize the genre's familiar one-two punch of a PI and his sidekick (Spenser and Hawk, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, etc.) with Frank and Jake in this book. The dialogue is not as smart-aleck as some, but the traditional tension and repartee between PIs and state and local police is there. Other slices of life Straka tackle include: a young female black district attorney in a small southern town, turf-battling between the local police department, attorneys, and the state trooper, the intrusion of organized crime and gangs into a small, sleepy southern town, the question of the conversion of a drug dealer to Christianity, much local Central Virginia color, and some of the finer shades of difference between falconry with red-tailed hawks and goshawks. A WITNESS ABOVE raises the intelligence level of a good murder mystery a notch. I really liked this book. It is interesting and has a surprise ending that ties together all the pieces.
Rating:
Summary: Great new P-I series
Review: Mr. Straka's first book in the Frank Pavlicek series offers the reader a variety of adventures. Pavlicek, a former NYC detective, and his former partner(s) resettle with their families in small-town Virginia after being railroaded off the force for their part in a teen's death resulting from a cop shooting. After his marriage fails in the new setting, Pavlicek moves to Charlottesville where he sets up his PI shop, and develops a taste for falconry. Years later when his hunting bird discovers a dead body and Pavlicek spots evidence that apparently connects the deceased black (drug dealing?) teen with his daughter, Pavlicek is thrust back into family life with all the joys of dealing with his alcoholic former wife and rebellious teenage daughter. As evidence mounts against his daughter, Pavlicek's determination increases. Can Pavlicek and his hawk rise to the occasion? The reader will recognize the genre's familiar one-two punch of a PI and his sidekick (Spenser and Hawk, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, etc.) with Frank and Jake in this book. The dialogue is not as smart-aleck as some, but the traditional tension and repartee between PIs and state and local police is there. Other slices of life Straka tackle include: a young female black district attorney in a small southern town, turf-battling between the local police department, attorneys, and the state trooper, the intrusion of organized crime and gangs into a small, sleepy southern town, the question of the conversion of a drug dealer to Christianity, much local Central Virginia color, and some of the finer shades of difference between falconry with red-tailed hawks and goshawks. A WITNESS ABOVE raises the intelligence level of a good murder mystery a notch. I really liked this book. It is interesting and has a surprise ending that ties together all the pieces.
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