Dead Float

May 12, 2014
In Easley’s uneven second Cal Claxton mystery (after 2013’s Matters of Doubt), fishing guide Philip Lone Deer persuades attorney Cal to help lead a trip on Oregon’s Deschutes River, though the participants turn out to include Alexis Bruckner, with whom Cal once had a brief fling, and her CEO husband, Hal. When Hal winds up with his throat slashed, suspicion falls on Cal (whose knife just happens to be missing). A thin subplot about Cal’s grown daughter, Claire, who’s on a dangerous do-gooding trip in Sudan, distracts. On the plus side, Cal—a dog devotee who loves a good bottle of pinot and is a mean hand at Scrabble—makes an engaging narrator. The Pacific Northwest setting provides good atmosphere, and Cal’s memories of his dead wife lend some emotional depth. The novel’s last paragraph promise of a new fishing adventure—and possibly new romance—will keep readers engaged in the series, despite this entry’s bumps.

July 15, 2014
A former lawyer finds that leading a fishing expedition isn't quite the respite he was expecting when a customer is murdered on the trip.Ever since he left his high-pressure job as an LA prosecutor, Cal Claxton has been looking for a little peace and quiet. Walks with his loyal dog, Archie, and trout fishing on Oregon's Deschutes River now fill his time. Cal expects an equally relaxed few days when he agrees to lead a fishing trip for his friend Philip Lone Deer. Almost immediately, however, the drama begins when Cal realizes the trip is for Hal Bruckner, head of up-and-coming NanoTech. Not only do Hal's companions have poorly hidden disagreements about the Diamond Wire Project the company is planning, but Hal's wife, Alexis, has a personal (very personal) history with Cal. Luckily, Hal had the foresight to hire Daina Zakaris, a consultant with Accelerated Management Development, to help with the professional transition. Daina gets some of the animosity out in the open and begins to develop communication among the four members of NanoTech's management team. But she doesn't seem to have been so successful at having the team confront conflict: They awaken to find Hal's been murdered. While it's obvious to Cal that someone must have been hired to kill Hal, local cops believe Cal may be to blame. Clearly, the best way to prove his innocence is to find out who's behind Hal's death.Easley's second continues to flesh out Cal's character but sets him against some two-dimensional bad guys. It's an improvement over Matters of Doubt (2013), but the nitty-gritty details still don't sing out.

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July 1, 2014

Cal just wants to be a small-town attorney and fly-fishing guide. His friend Philip Lone Deer, a popular Oregon guide, hires Cal for a gig on the Deschutes River, a corporate team-building retreat for a firm's executive leaders. Clearly, the team is squabbling; even worse, the CEO's wife had an affair with Cal the previous year. The first night, the CEO is murdered in his sleep. Cal's problems deepen: his fishing knife is the murder weapon. Cal and Philip must investigate on the side because the police believe they have solved the case. When someone tries to drown Cal, he uses his fishing skills to good advantage. What a showdown finish! VERDICT Easley's folksy style belies an intense drama revolving around corporate greed and espionage. The second outing for this action-packed Oregon-based series (after Matters of Doubt) succeeds in quickly bringing readers up to speed. Pairs nicely with other boomer thrillers such as those by H. Terrell Griffin and also with fly-fishing mysteries by Keith McCafferty and Victoria Houston.

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