Mr. Clarinet A Novel [Paperback]

There was nothing waiting for ex-cop Max Mingus when he walked out of Attica Prison after serving hard time for murder—his adored wife died in a car crash while he was locked up. Now Miami's one-time top detective is haunted by an empty house, bad memories . . . and an impossible job offer for obscenely good money. Three years ago, Charlie Carver, the five-year-old son of a powerful Haitian billionaire, vanished. His father is offering Max $15 million to bring the boy back—or, at the very least, to find his body and deliver his abductors.

Max knows he should turn this case down. There's no way the kid is still alive, and pursuing his ghost means plunging headfirst into Haiti, a steaming island hotbed of crime, greed, voodoo, and corruption. And the three detectives who preceded Mingus are all dead . . . or worse. But Max has nothing left to lose—even if his investigation stirs up a murky evil that can swallow a man whole . . . and leads him to the soul-destroying truth about a terrifying local myth, a child-stealing nightmare called Mr. Clarinet.

Gritty and unremittingly dark, replete with supervillains, Mr. Clarinet pays homage to pulp fiction and film noir.Painstakingly researched, effectively written and well conceived, it deserves all of its pre-release hype.This is a hotshot debut novel. If you trust my judgment, buy it.If theres one thing you must do in 2006, curl up and read Mr Clarinet by Nick Stone.This is crime fiction at its zenith, challenging, compelling and with an insight that delves deep under the skin.