Cold Florida by Phillip DePoy
A drug-addicted newborn is stolen from the hospital in Fry's Bay, Florida, by the child's junkie mother. Foggy Moskowitz, investigator for Florida Child Protective Services, is called to assist the police in finding the endangered baby who needs medicine within three hours or could die.
Foggy had previously been a happy-go-lucky car thief in Brooklyn until he was arrested in 1971. Knowing he would wind up in jail, Foggy managed to escape from the police, hightailing it to Florida and a new life. Three years later he has a steady government job.
The search for baby and mother leads Foggy to a small time dealer, a bar and pool hall with excellent brisket and testy teens, and a hungover Seminole trying to help the baby while staying out of trouble. Finding the baby won't stop the questions in Foggy's mind. In fact, it generates even more, many involving the Seminole Tribal Council's involvement. Someone is trying to kill Foggy. He is also being warned away from Tribal business. Things get stranger and stranger, but amazingly intriguing.
It honestly took me a couple of chapters to get into this one, but once I could "hear" the cadence of Foggy's speech, I began to love the book. An intriguing weaving of mystery, mysticism, unusual characters, and a time of change for the Seminoles.
While it has become a cliche to write books set in Florida filled with strange, unusual, or crazy people, like most cliches it has a basis in truth. I grew up in Florida and moved back so I could retire from what I consider my home state. I can attest that there is something about Florida that either breeds or attracts people who are...different.
I'm enchanted with this book and cannot wait to read a sequel someday soon. So much so that I am inclined to check out the author's other series, Fever Devilin, which one reviewer has called "Southern Gothic".
Foggy is the main character, but there are so many others that caught my attention, from John Horse to dear Phillip to Mister Redhawk and so many others who live in or near the small town. 4.5 out of 5.
