In this 19th book in the 'Aloysius Pendergast' series, the FBI Special Agent investigates a bizarre occurrence on Florida's Captiva Island.
*****
Seventeen-year-old Ward Pearsall is walking along the beach on Captiva Island when he sees what he thinks is a light green sneaker bobbing toward shore.
Ward knows some sneakers are collectibles, so he snags the shoe from the water....and it contains a HUMAN FOOT!
By the time Captiva's Police Chief Perelman joins his officers on the scene, rows of green shoes - each containing a foot - are lined up on the shores of Captiva and Sanibel Islands, and the number of shoes soon tops ninety.
In a short while, the local police are joined by Coast Guard investigators, and by FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast. Pendergast is accompanied by his ward, Constance Greene, who looks like a delicate beauty, but carries a stiletto; and is assisted by his partner, Native American FBI Agent Armstrong Coldmoon
Since the shoes are washing in from the ocean, Coast Guard Commander Baugh is put in charge of the investigation. Baugh, who's old-school and hard-headed, decides the shoes came from a Cuban prison, and proceeds to look into the event from that angle.
Pendergast believes the shoes originated elsewhere, and quietly enlists the help of oceanographer Pamela Gladstone and her assistant, who are studying ocean currents. Pendergast hopes the oceanographers can pinpoint where the shoes entered the water, and the route they took to Captiva and Sanibel Islands.
Meanwhile, an analysis of the shoes reveals they were made in China, and Pendergast sends an agent to China, to locate the factory that made the shoes, and the customers who bought them.
Another line of inquiry opens when DNA analysis demonstrates that one severed foot came from a Guatemalan woman in the Ixquiac family.
Coldmoon is dispatched to Guatemala to make inquiries, and learns a local woman has been missing since she left with a group of refugees planning to sneak into the United States.
While all this is going on, Constance Greene rents a luxury home called The Mortlach House, close to Captiva beach, to provide accommodations for herself, Pendergast, and Coldmoon.
The Mortlach House has the reputation of being haunted, and Constance spends some time investigating the rumors of a ghost.
At the same time, a Miami Herald reporter called Roger Smithback is determined to get a scoop about the green shoes. Roger uses all his ingenuity to get inside information, which unfortunately for the reporter, leads to unexpected trouble.
Without giving away too much, I can say things take a dangerous turn for almost everyone involved with the case. There are storms, murders, stabbings, shootings, drugs, a weapon called a parang, and more.
Terrible things happen, and Pendergast, Constance, and Coldmoon are all involved.
The book has an ingenious premise and is a good addition to the series. Recommended to fans of thrillers.
Rating: 4 stars
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