BY GEORGE SNYDER (XLIBRIS CORP., 2001; 335 PAGES; $20.00)
REVIEWED BY DARYL CLARK
It was a long winter and an even longer spring, here in the land of Ventura . . . Minnesota, that is! Spring departed, mosquitoes arrived, and we stopped dreaming about sailing. First we wore out the pages between the covers of each and every Good Old Boat magazine. By then we had tired of articles on the latest boating gear.
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Unfortunately, I don’t have enough money in the kitty to join those suffering with the cruising lifestyle – at least not yet! So I read books. But I’m not looking for just any book. I want one I’ll find difficult to put down . . . a book to curl up with and let my mind paint its own pictureof adventure.
Recently, just such a book arrived, one that fit the bill. It came along in a svelte little package with a catchy title: Bad Girl Dead. This is the author’s first in a series of “Baylor Rumble mystery thriller novels.” And what an adventure it is! A roller coaster ride of uncommon sailing adventure replete with romance, murder, intrigue, and some of the most bizarre characters this side of Afghanistan. Our hero and main character is one Baylor Rumble, a true gentle sailing spirit, who is biding his time on the West Coast while trying to put together the makings of a cruising kitty.
But before he can depart, the lives of desperate and, believe me, fiendish characters block his escape from the confines of Newport Beach Marina. Author George Snyder paints these characters with a quixotic brush. He describes a world that Baylor would rather not be a part of, but can’t control . . . one in which it will take all his cunning to survive.
Be prepared to spend some time with this one, as you may be hard pressed to put it down. One word of caution: if you are weak of stomach, please do not attempt to read just before bedtime – your stomach will more than likely churn with every thrilling chapter as Baylor makes his way through “murder, mayhem, and marauding women” – until, with luck, he “solves this caper.”
