Mortal Sin -- Paul Levine

I always enjoy the novels of Paul Levine. This one’s part of his Jack Lassiter series, and it’s dedicated to John D. MacDonald, “whose tough love for an embattled Florida inspires us still.” From that, you might be able to guess that the book’s about the developers vs. the environment, and it is, but it also has some nice courtroom stuff (Lassiter’s an ex-Miami Dolphin turned lawyer), humor, CSI-type forensics (though written long before the hit TV series), violence, and lots of action. Maybe too much action, since I’m not especially fond of long, drawn-out climaxes, even if they do feature threshing machines, car chases, car crashes, helicopters, burning cane fields, flying bullets, and whatever else I’m forgetting. Aside from that quibble, though, the book’s a lot of fun, and it does have some great gator material. Along the way, Levine manages to work in references to Dave Barry, Carl Hiassen, and Edna Buchanan, all of whom blurbed the book for him. I love stuff like that. Lassiter drinks some Plymouth Gin at one point. I liked that, too.