“I’ve never been disbarred, committed or convicted of moral turpitude, and the only time I was arrested, it was a case of mistaken identity…I didn’t know the guy I hit was a cop.”
In Riptide, an angry Jake Lassiter goes on the trail of $1.6 million in negotiable bonds ripped off from his favorite client, octogenarian Sam Kazdoy.
As he goes on the hunt for the missing money, things take a more sinister turn when Jake’s old buddy, Berto Zaldivar, a lawyer-turned-smuggler, ends up dead.
From Miami to Bimini to Maui.
The painstaking search for clues for both these crimes takes him to a menacing professional windsurfer and his companion Lila Summers, a champion athlete and lethal femme fatale. Determined to get to the bottom of what happened to the money and discover who was responsible for the death his friend, Jake’s detective work leads him from Miami to Maui via Bimini, and ultimately ends in an explosive finale in which he learns lessons never taught on the football field or in the courtroom.
Riptide was originally published as a hardcover under the title Slashback. Here’s what others have said about this gripping novel.
Praise
“A thriller as fast as the wind…a bracing rush, as breathtaking as hitting the Gulf waters on a chill December morning.” – Tampa Tribune
“A lively and skilled caper.” – Los Angeles Times
“Sparkles as a mystery and a character study.” – South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“A tale involving drug smuggling and murder, windsurfing and murder, multi-million dollar thievery and murder. The action never stops.” – Denver Rocky Mountain News
“One of the best mystery writers in the business today. The story fairly leaps with enthusiasm toward the finale. Riptide is Paul Levine’s finest work.” – Ocala (FL) Star Banner
“Paul Levine is guilty of master storytelling in the first degree.” – Carl Hiaasen