About the Book
Moments before he is executed, the killer of the daughter of Hub Walker, a famous Vietnam War pilot and hero, makes a startling allegation, claiming that the real murderer is a close friend of Walker's, a prominent US defense contractor. Walker wants to hire somebody willing to spend a few days digging up information that will refute the convicted killer's groundless but widely reported claims and will help restore his friend's good name. That somebody, as fate would have it, is Cordell Logan, sardonic civilian flight instructor, would-be Buddhist, and retired military assassin.
A Medal of Honor recipient married to a former Playboy Playmate of the Year, Hub Walker resides in the swanky San Diego enclave of La Jolla overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Logan is convinced that working for Walker will be little more than a paid vacation--a chance not only to rub shoulders with a living legend but also to rekindle his own relationship with his enticing ex-wife, Savannah. But after flying to San Diego in his beloved aging Cessna, the Ruptured Duck, Logan is quickly drawn into a vexing and deadly jigsaw puzzle. The deeper he digs, the murkier the truth appears and the more danger he encounters. Who really killed the war hero's daughter, and why? Somebody in America's Finest City wants to keep Logan from asking questions and will stop at nothing to silence him.
About the Author :
David Freed was a specialist in both law enforcement and military affairs during an eighteen-year reporting career, including a stint reporting on Operation Desert Storm from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq. As an investigative journalist for the Los Angeles Times, he shared in a Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper's coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. After leaving the Times, he worked as an investigator and associate field producer for the Los Angeles bureau of CBS News, helping cover the O. J. Simpson murder case. In 1995 he sold his first feature-length screenplay, the action-thriller Stealth, to Twentieth Century Fox. He is also an instrument-rated private pilot and airplane owner who holds an active, top secret security clearance from the US Department of Defense.
Keith Szarabajka has appeared in many films, including The Dark Knight, Missing, and A Perfect World, and on such television shows as The Equalizer, Angel, Cold Case, Golden Years, and Profit. Szarabajka has also appeared in several episodes of Selected Shorts for National Public Radio. He won the 2001 Audie Award for Unabridged Fiction for his reading of Tom Robbins' Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates.
Review :
Cordell Logan, former black-ops specialist turned Buddhist and flight instructor, returns as a reluctant investigator when he is pulled into another thorny murder investigation...Narrator Keith Szarabajka moves the action along with natural pacing, capturing the irreverence of the wisecracking main character and bringing many secondary characters to life...Pilots and other listeners will find the flying aspects of the story enthralling, particularly combined with the engaging plot, characters, and narration.
-- "AudioFile"
Cordell Logan, the Southern California flight instructor and former black-ops specialist, returns in his second adventure...As in Flat Spin, Freed combines an intriguing mystery with some engaging banter from the Spenser-like hero and several exciting flying scenes. When Logan is in the air, Freed's series really takes off.
-- "Booklist"
Freed's skills as a reporter, screenwriter, and pilot made his first Logan tale (Flat Spin) a delight, and this one continues that roller-coaster pleasure. Logan is a stubborn, wise-cracking, ordinary guy with some extraordinary skills and a passion for flying. He does have a few problems following the Buddha's precepts on nonviolence, but readers will eagerly look forward to his further attempts to combine flying and detection.
-- "Library Journal"
In Freed's crackling second mystery...the appealing Logan, a wise-cracking, marriage-challenged loner trying to practice Buddhist tenets, proves his mettle as both pilot and investigator.
-- "Publishers Weekly"
Told in the first-person, Fangs Out is the second book in the widely acclaimed Cordell Logan series, and like its predecessor is filled with bullet-speed wit, original characters (and a cat to die for), plus a fast-paced and intelligent plotline, climaxing with more than one surprise, especially the surprise on the very last sentence of the book. David Freed is a master of mordant one-liners for which Raymond Chandler's leading man, Philip Marlowe, would have given his eye teeth. Highly recommended for crime and thrillers fans alike.
-- "New York Journal of Books"
