Detective Fiction, Thrillers, Crimes - Fiction, Crime Fiction, Other Mystery Categories

An Ice Cold Paradise

Name: An Ice Cold Paradise
Author: Terry Holland
ISBN: 9781937495275

by Terry Holland

Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Overview

When Valerie Sabatino arrives at his home on Oahu, the last thing Harry Pines wants is missing-persons action. But when he learns the missing person is the son of his long-ago cellmate, he has no choice but to strap it on. And it doesn't hurt that Valerie is the kind of woman who could bring drool to a statue's chin.
In AN ICE COLD PARADISE Harry and his handy band of friends in Chicago and Hawaii peel back the curtain on world of runaway girls turned hookers and soldiers paying of gambling debts by stealing weapons. Before it ends Harry has fallen hard for Valerie and doesn't take it kindly when a half-crazed Mormon Fundamentalist with a mean little army wants to snatch her as a wife. Harry can bring a lot of pain when he's in a bad mood.
Harry Pines is the enormously entertaining creation of Terry Holland, who arrives here walking in the footsteps of Hammett, Chandler, MacDonald, and Parker.

About the Author, Terry Holland

Terry Holland has worked as Creative Director of an advertising agency, as a farm hand, as a political consultant, as a fishmonger, as a professional gambler, as a geodemographic targeting consultant, and a few other things. He lives in Louisville in a tree house.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Holland's uneven debut, the first in a series, introduces ex-con turned PI Harry Pines. A larger-than-life figure, Pines has benefited from a series of lucky breaks after his release from prison, including winning enough money at the horse track to buy a house in the town of Kailua on Oahu. Valerie Sabatino, a gorgeous and fabulously wealthy attorney, asks Pines for help tracking down her missing nephew, Danny MacGillicuddy, whose father was Pines's former cellmate. MacGillicuddy, a soldier stationed on the island, has gone AWOL under circumstances that make his aunt fear the worst. After this intriguing set-up, Pines gets on the trail of some violent Mormon fundamentalists but soon finds himself in stock situations involving fire fights and hostage-taking. An abrupt ending reminiscent of Diamonds Are Forever may leave some readers scratching their heads. Still, Holland's prose is good enough to suggest he can deliver more nuanced characters and a less predictable plot in the sequel.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mystery Scene Magazine

Not just a mystery story, An Ice Cold Paradise provides an intriguing look at one of the stranger pathways religion has led its blind followers down.

Nathan Cain

Holland’s debut is solid. He’s got something here. The reason why MacDonald wrote so many Travis McGee novels is because they appealed to readers. Here’s hoping he can bring Pines out from under the shadow of his influences and find a way to make him his own man.