KILLER SWELL, by Jeff Shelby

(originally posted on May 15, 2005)

There's barely any fat or padding in this first installment of a new series starring young surfer P.I. Noah Braddock, who investigates the disappearance of his high school girlfriend at the behest of her mother -- a woman he hated. Instant conflict, and it only gets worse when the trail leads to drug mules, cheating husbands and (of course) hot chicks to sleep with. It's awfully reminiscent in tone and style to Robert Crais's THE MONKEY'S RAINCOAT, but nothing wrong with a well-done throwback. Look for it in mid-June.