Swan Dive Author:Michael Burke Power and sex: that is what this novel is all about. A down-on-his-luck detective gets hired to look into a family squabble in which the patriarch, a wealthy investment manager, is concerned that his son is cheating on his fiance. What the detective discovers is much more complex than either he or the money mogul had anticipated. He discovers em... more »bezzlement, perjury, lust, incest, and, yes, murder. As with many of the classic novels of this genre such as the Spencer series, the Travis McGee series, Easy Rawlins, and Elvis Cole, Swan Dive is told through the point of view of the detective. John Blue Heron is a loner who has a roaming eye and who is not really the brightest of men. For example, he can t figure out why everyone calls him Blue. He prides himself in his powers of observation, but he is basically innocent. And he is horny. In fact, one of his biggest problems is that he usually gets too entranced with whatever woman is near to be able to concentrate on the job he is being paid to do. That makes for trouble. It also makes for some very humorous scenes. This is blue-collar fiction. It is not about a blue-collar crime, but Heron is definitely a blue-collar detective. He lives in what he calls The Dung Hill Arms (rather than The Gold Hill Arms of its official title) and he seems lucky to be able to put food on the table and gas in his old Honda. The novel is set in an unnamed New England factory town, and a reader gets the idea right off that the town itself is down on its luck.« less