J.L.F. Waldron

In a Fine Castle J.L.F. Waldron

April 1943. As the Second World War rages on, rations in the British colony of Trinidad start to dwindle, curfews take effect and nerves begin to fray. Since last year's U-boat attacks, more and more American servicemen have flooded into this petrol-rich island. Their aim-to protect British and American interests both here and across the Caribbean Sea. After his recent encounters with the Yankees, Bonham Mars is anxious to avoid the foreigners and stay out of trouble. But the 'American occupation' is not Mars' only problem these days. Summoned to a mansion in Santa Cruz, he winds up face to face with the island's most notorious citizen-Prohibition-era 'rum-runner, ' Nello Gaspard. The deported gangster's son has been abducted and he hires Mars to find his boy. Racing the clock, Mars shuttles back and forth across the crowded island chasing clues to the identity and location of the kidnappers. But he is frustrated by wartime emergencies and other setbacks...and reminded at every turn that, no matter how singular your focus or feverish your pace, you always find more crime than you were looking for.