118 SARASOTA SCENE | DECEMBER 2017
arts&culture
THE HEDGECOCK
FRIASKO
by Rick Hussey
Fort Lauderdale
author Rick
Hussey’s debut
thriller, The
Hedgecock Friasko,
follows the
story of Stephen
Foerster, who gets
caught in the
middle of a Ponzi
scheme and
dirty fracking
operation that’s
all thanks to his
ex-boss’ greed.
Even a fake
identity isn’t
enough to get
Foerster away
from a PI, detectives, and an assassin.
It’s not exactly John D. MacDonald
and his self-described salvage consultant/
hero Travis McGee, but Hussey’s
story does feature punchy sentences, a
well-described rendering of Fort Lauderdale,
and a complex plot that does
come together satisfyingly in the end.
Here’s a sense of the often-staccato
cadence Hussey creates. See what you
think.
Now, people
were polite but
reserved. She had
difficulty finding
foursomes for
tennis or golf.
Of course, there
were no more
parties or dinners.
She received fewer
and fewer invitations
to lunch or
shopping. Recently
she had stopped
going to the club
altogether. She’d
said it didn’t matter.
“This will pass,”
she’d reasoned.
If Hussey’s next
books continue to use a world he
knows well (he’s a civil trial lawyer)
and a setting he’s passionate about (like
his Fort Lauderdale home), his literary
future can be bright. Though a stronger
book design and cover would be quite
welcome, too.
Rating:
trimarkpress.com/authors/rick-hussey/
BE ON THE LOOKOUT in Sarasota Scene’s January 2018
issue for Ryan Van Cleave’s new column! Ryan will share his
thoughts on community happenings - the good, the bad and
the ugly. But don’t worry! Ryan will still be recommending
great reads by local or Florida authors as Literary Scene returns
again in 2018.
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