Tropical Funeral

At 78, Jack Nowan's father, Irving The Dentist, finally meets his end on a Florida golf course. Mercy and Jack fly out to Sarasota for the funeral and cremation. Since Jack and his uptight orthodontist father never got along, he's seen little of his mom in the last twenty years, though Jack and his mother, Rose, always got along great. Turns out that Rose always hated Florida, and didn't play golf, so she's not really broken up about her retired husband's death at all. The problems start when the scammers try to horn in. They tell Rose that her dead hubby owes them 150 grand, plus 10% per week, not month or year, in vig, interest on the loan, vigorish. Rose knows her husband would never have borrowed money from loan sharks - he was way too cheap and straight. And Rose Nowan is no more of a pushover than her private investigator son and his partner, Mercy Torcher. The novel, with a lot of twists, turns, and musings on America in general and Florida in particular, follows Jack, Mercy, and Rose as they try to straighten out the mess so they can all get out of this morbid and loony state with bodies and savings intact. Be prepared to laugh as you read this novel in the grand tradition of Florida caper mayhem and craziness. (318 pages)