Stealing Home — Irving Weinman

Murder and revenge in a Gulf Coast town. A small Florida town is being threatened by massive land development and offshore oil exploration--both controlled by the antagonistic Roy Higgs, who has married into the town's oldest, best family. Two other very different, local men are involved: Mickey Berman, a jazz pianist and owner a local nightclub; and Bill Raeburn, a failed pro baseball player. Dark as the smoke of the failed burn-off from an oil spill, enmities glower and burst into chases through New Orleans and the Guatemalan jungles, ending in madness and death. The story vividly illustrates the effects of reckless development on the lives of these complex, fascinating characters.