Sidewalk Saint

February 8, 2016
Set in 1974 in Fry’s Bay, Fla., this appealing first in a new series from Edgar-winner DePoy (December’s Thorn and six other Fever Devlin mysteries) introduces colorful Foggy Moscowitz, who once stole cars in his native Brooklyn. When Nurse Maggie Redhawk tells Foggy, who now works as an investigator for Child Protective Services, that addict Lynette Baker, a new mother, has fled the hospital with her sick baby, who needs medicine to survive, Foggy goes on a successful hunt for the baby. Later, members of the Tribal Council of the Seminole Nation take Lynette and her baby to their swamp. Foggy’s efforts to find the baby bring him into contact with a slew of characters, including Seminole sage John Horse, with competing interests. The baby is the key, and Foggy must figure out why before he can act. DePoy’s lively mix of Seminole history and the wry observations of a “Yankee Jew criminal” make for an amusing tale. Agent: Janet Reid, FinePrint Literary Management.

March 1, 2016

In 1971 car thief Foggy Moskowitz fled to Fry's Bay, FL, and reinvented himself as an investigator for Child Protective Services, trying to atone for his crimes in Brooklyn. Three years later, he gets a late-night phone call from his boss, who wants him to track down a missing baby taken from the hospital by her junkie mother. He finds the infant as well as mystical Seminoles, land-grubbing billionaires, and other interesting characters. VERDICT DePoy, acclaimed for his "Flap Tucker" (Dead Easy) and "Fever Devilin" (December's Thorn) mysteries, starts a new noir series that introduces a flawed man with a heart of gold. Foggy did a bad thing, and now he lives as though every day is Yom Kippur. Atmospheric and with a hero trying to be better than the circumstances in which he finds himself, this title will remind readers of Sharyn McCrumb's "Ballad" series and Rick Riordan's "Tres Navarre" books.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2019
Foggy Moscowitz fled New York because the cops were after him. He wound up in Florida working for Child Protective Services, and, if that strikes you as a tad outlandish, you're in the wrong novel. Depoy has used Foggy as front man for a rum concoction of action, detection, offbeat humor, and quirky did-you-know scholarship in three earlier novels, and he's at it again. Foggy is asked?at gunpoint?to track down a missing 11-year-old girl for reasons that come clear as the plot unfolds. She was witness to crimes and possesses an astounding memory that the criminals fear. When Foggy catches up to her, their scenes together are more interesting than the one-more-time plot. Foggy reveals his secret weapon: honesty. No one expected it, and "you could take advantage of that." His interrogation technique? Act like you know everything. Make a mistake and they might correct you; then you've got 'em. The girl's vaunted memory is, happily for us, attuned to fourteenth-century English proverbs and debunking ancient Sumerian claims of skinning captured enemies alive. Quirky and thoroughly entertaining.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

March 15, 2016
Florida, 1974. Foggy Moskowitz, a Brooklyn car thief on the lam, has managed to wind up in the Sunshine State working for Child Protective Services (the how-he-got-there story is a little far-fetched, but just go with it). Sent out to find a missing babythe child was taken from the hospital, possibly by its drug-addicted motherhe winds up wading knee-deep in conspiracy and a target for murder. The novel is the first in a projected series, and it has a lot going for it: an appealing, offbeat protagonist; a wacky story line; and a real feel for '70s Florida. If further adventures of Foggy Moskowitz continue the Elmore Leonard vibe that DePoy has going here, you can expect this series to have legs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)