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Thomas B. Cavanagh’s first
book, Murderland, takes place in an
amusement park in Orlando owned by Empire Studios. A serial killer has committed a couple of murders on
property. Head of security, Jerry Engle must stop the killer. He hires former Orlando homicide
detective Kevin Lonnegan to assist in catching the killer. Jerry is also a former Orlando homicide
detective.
Kevin poses as a character
on the rollercoaster ride to provide cover for the murder investigation. While working on the ride he meets
Sheila Nelson another character at the park, and they soon become involved with
each other. Their current and past
relationships provide secondary tension to the story. Sheila is in the middle of a nasty divorce, while Kevin’s
wife is the victim of a car accident in which a drunk driver rammed her car.
The lead Orlando detective,
Pendergast dislikes Jerry and Kevin with a passion, and would enjoy nothing
better than making them look bad while making himself look good in the
process. The interaction of
Jerry, Kevin, and Pendergast add suspense to the story.
Muderland is
a decent author’s first book.
It has suspense, action, and romance. Cavanagh’s talents improve with his second and third books, Head Games and Prodigal Son. Read
those two first and then come back to Murderland.
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