Greater Trouble in the Lesser Antilles

By Charles Locks

Book Overview

Winner of the Midwest Book Award for Commercial Fiction, Greater Trouble in the Lesser Antilles is the vivid tale of Captain Brian, a part-time sailor/philosopher and full-time hedonistic hero in the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1512390267
• ISBN13: 9781512390261
• Release Date: May 2017
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great Fun

I'm sitting on a train in New Jersey, cackling like a madman. My fellow commuters must wonder whether I'm really crazy. I can't help it. I'm reading "Greater Trouble in Lesser Antilles" a mystery by Charles Locks. It's laugh-out-loud funny. The book is one of those rare finds that successfully combine an almost slapstick comedy with ample - sometimes too ample - ruminations on the deeper meaning of life. Ostensibly a mystery, the novel is really a vehicle to demonstrate how humanity is sometimes best served by outlaws and rule-breakers. In Locks's world, to paraphrase the song, "I fought the law and I won." "Greater Trouble" also shows the benefits of why writers set their novels in exotic locations. St. Judas may be a fictional location in the Virgin Islands, but it comes alive with exquisitely crafted descriptions of place and several boatloads of weird and wonderful characters. They include everyone from Pirate Dan, a bar owner with a wooden leg who insists on peppering speech with phrases like "argh," to Anal Richards, the island's demented answer to Oral Roberts and the brother to Officer Richards, the book's often hapless police villain. The story is simple enough. One of the island's regulars, Leif the Thief, is found stuffed in a cistern, very much dead. After one of the most hilarious funerals imaginable, Captain Brian Clancy, the philosopher-sailor who can talk Plato as well as he can tack, is enlisted by his would-be-love to investigate. Of course, Clancy gets more than he bargained for, largely in the presence of the Shirt, a narc from the mainland whose sense of law and justice is about as bent as they come. "Greater Trouble" is a great find and highly recommended.

Long-legged blondes and much more

The Lesser Antilles is a utopia of adventure and romance where bright blue waters, hot white sands and the vivid colors of flora and fauna, lull a vacationer into a lazy dawdle. Captain Brian Clancy, a transplant from Kansas, has made St. Judas his home for these past decades, yet the deaths of friends have made this idyllic native island less than desirable. Most notably, the mysterious murder of Lief the Thief has shaken the languid disposition of the islanders. Reluctantly, Captain Brian partners up with Billie, a long-legged, sun-tanned blonde, whom every warm-blooded man dreams of taking in his arms. Billie, however, has her own agenda for hooking up with the captain. Together they uncover the clues that suggest there is much more to this fatality than the shady local constable and a crooked federal agent lead on. They dodge bullets as they discover that eleven duffle-sized bales of cocaine that are stuffed in an underwater cave are at the center of this mystery. Only Charles Locks could authentically write about paradise, sailing and mystery. He has created a rich cast of characters who celebrate life and death as only the islanders can. Through his own personal experience as a restaurateur and sailboat aficionado in the Caribbean, Locks combines hilarity with romance to balance out the somberness of this well-told mystery. I really liked this book once I got into it. The story line seemed to go slow at first as the author took his time bringing this motley crew of characters to life through his clever use of colorful words. I am looking forward to reading more novels by Charles Locks. Armchair Interviews: A very, very satisfying read.

Definitely delivers

The excellent thing about this book is that it's thoroughly entertaining on a number of levels. As a murder mystery, it's deliciously plotty and convoluted--with a finale that really delivers. The writing delivers too. This is a lively first person tale, told through the eyes of Captain Brian, an intelligent, humorous character with an idiosyncratic way of looking at the world. The book is studded with gems, entertaining details and unexpected analogies that provide a richness that can be rare in this genre. It's full of memorable, sometimes quirky characters who've fled the North to build their various versions of the sunny paradise lifestyle; you also meet a number of richly drawn West Indian characters and various shady visitors and officials. And most everybody's up to something, everybody has an angle. I loved it! As somebody who has often wondered what it would be like to actually go live on a tropical island, GREATER TROUBLE was a real vicarious pleasure. I loved learning about the culture these disparate folks created, complete with their own standards and their very distinct, island-y ways of doing things. There's also quite a bit of sailing-related action here, too, which is a lot of fun for anybody with a maritime bent.

"Greater Trouble" - great fun

You'll love Captain Brian as much as he loves sailing. I get seasick looking at a swimming pool, but this book made me want to find the nearest sailboat and get aboard. Through the Captain, Locks offers an insider's view, both affectionate and cynical, of the fictional St. Judas and its varied inhabitants. Combining superbly crafted language with irresistible action, "Greater Trouble" offers a unique contribution to the genre of literary mystery.