Dirty politics and murder combine to cause havoc in depressed and storm-damaged Ironton, N.J.. In the First Frank Nagler Mystery, Detective Frank Nagler is assigned to find the killer of a young woman who mutilated body was discovered after tropical storm in the Old Iron Bog. He is frustrated by the lack of progress and concerned that many clues seem to point to his former and missing girlfriend as a suspect.
Beautiful writing with a dark plot: murder and dirty politics in a down and out city in New Jersey. Detective Frank Nagler, native son of this city, is a worn down, gritty character with a deeply buried sensitive side. Confronted with a body dumped in a bog at the tail end of a devastating storm that leaves the city in ruins, the case is further complicated because the corpse lacks both hands and head. Years ago, the detective apprehended a serial killer with a predilection for mutilation and became a local hero. Is this new grisly murder the work of a copycat killer? Fortunately for the reader, things are not that simple. The storyline is intricate and leaves the reader intrigued and turning the pages to discover what lies beneath. Characters are immediately human, complex and draw the reader into the decaying city they call home. The author has a way with infusing the prose with metaphors and similes that bring a scene to life and work on several levels. If you enjoy literary mysteries with well-crafted plots, this book is for you.