Splendor Bay

Rating:
Summary: A rare first book
Review: Eat your heart out, New York. Or, more specifically, all you New York publishers. You've let another rising star slip through your fingers, this time to be published by a small press from the Lone Star state. The Advance Books Company of Texas may not be a big name player in the book business, but with the release of L. B. Cobb's Splendor Bay, they showed the publishing world that they recognize true talent when they see it.

And talent would be L. B.'s middle name if she didn't already have one in the form of an initial. This is one savvy lady who not only knows how to plot an intriguing mystery but also knows how to people that mystery with remarkably complicated yet true-to-life characters. The fact that she does this so skillfully belies Cobb's standing as a first-time author and makes this book a pleasure to read.

Splendor Bay's story line might be considered trite if handled less deftly: jilted husband finds body of wife's lover outside his home, becomes prime suspect in the murder, then escapes arrest by deducing the identity of the killer. An age-old theme of mystery novels, but in Splendor Bay, the commonplace becomes extraordinary due to the identities and emotional intensity of the characters.

Bill Glasscock is not your everyday high-priced lawyer. Instead, he's a man who walks away from his job in the middle of a trial -- thus earning himself a suspension from the bar -- after discovering his wife in bed with the governor of the state. But it's not only his job that Bill abandons. He shakes off an entire way of life, reverting to a beach-bum existence that includes shacking up with his wife's cousin, the beautiful state's attorney general, Sally Solana.

Likewise, Eleana Glasscock is no ordinary housewife bent on a fling with a political celebrity. She's a woman whose position as head of the state archives provides her with ample opportunity to mingle with the local power brokers. Her involvement with Gov. Wallace Moreno is due more to loneliness than love, her husband being too busy getting rich to pay her much attention.

Toss in Bill and Eleana's teenage son, Davy, an insulin-dependent diabetic who's torn between both parents, and you have the makings of a family in turmoil where forgiveness and healing seem almost impossible. But murder has a strange way of drawing people together. In Splendor Bay, the need to protect Eleana and Davy drives Bill to reexamine his relationships with both family members and friends. Most difficult of all, he's forced to take a long, hard look at himself. His quest for self-discovery becomes as arduous as his hunt for the governor's killer.

It's rare for a writer to be able to imagine, much less clearly convey, the emotions of both sexes. Earning the simultaneous sympathy of the reader for differing characters is even more difficult. Cobb, though, accomplishes both of these things in Splendor Bay, and she does so in a way that is neither maudlin nor contrived. Instead, she uses crisp dialogue and cleanly written prose to portray the torment of love gone astray and the soul-searching task of personal recovery. What makes Cobb's feat even more remarkable is that it's accomplished in the context of a murder mystery. Make no mistake; Splendor Bay is a fast paced suspense story sure to appeal to lovers of the genre. But it's a mystery of the heart as well, and as that, it succeeds where many other novels fail.

L.C. Cobb is one helluva writer. Thank goodness she chose to shine her light in the field of mystery!

Rating:
Summary: Splendor Bay by L.B. Cobb
Review: I didn't want to put this book down after I began reading it. What I liked the most is that the story flows well and it kept me intrigued. The characters and story line are developed with just enough clarity that personalities or the plot didn't get foggy with excess detail. I was taken in by the main character, his sense of humor and approach to solving the crime, and all the ways he showed he cared about his family and friends. The end was good, because even though I tried to guess along the way what really happened, I wasn't even close.

Rating:
Summary: Splendor Bay by L.B. Cobb
Review: I didn't want to put this book down after I began reading it. What I liked the most is that the story flows well and it kept me intrigued. The characters and story line are developed with just enough clarity that personalities or the plot didn't get foggy with excess detail. I was taken in by the main character, his sense of humor and approach to solving the crime, and all the ways he showed he cared about his family and friends. The end was good, because even though I tried to guess along the way what really happened, I wasn't even close.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific New Writer Guaranteed to Please!
Review: One glorious morning, Bill Glasscock, aka Fragile Dick, awakens with a glorious hangover. He's at his girl friend's house. She's gone and when he looks out the window, he sees a body in the surf that just happens to be that of Governor Wallace Moreno, his soon-to-be-ex-wife's new boyfriend. It's not long before the cops decide Bill did it in a fit of jealousy. From there, the plot catpults with intrigue, quirky characters, conflicted relationships and wry, wry humor. Did I mention the humor? This writer is a fantastic new voice in this genre that will have Kinky Friendman, Carl Hiassen and Robert Crais looking to their laurels. Keep up the good work, LB. I can hardly wait for the next one.

Rating:
Summary: Show me the way back to the sea¿
Review: Show me the way back to the sea...

In the ocean of life, Bill Glasscock finds himself tossed into the waves of crime in Sleepy Splendor Bay. A by-the-sea town with sparkling turquoise water, where cutesy-touristy restaurants serve homemade biscuits and gravy or a slice of strudel amidst glorious scenery.

On a day when the cornflower-blue sky looks down on the hulls of old boats and waves that lazily lap at the sand in a never ending cycle, something washes up on the beach covered with seaweed and spoils the view.

Bill is on a vacation from real life, playing out his fantasy as a part-time detective and part time knight in shining armor. He is on a journey to discover the true beauty of life while his own personal pain and loss seems to surround him. The turmoil of his own soul leads him down a path where he tries to drown the pain by drinking his life away.

As Bill says: "Things happen. Sometimes you have to ride the wave."

He is a victim of circumstance, having taken his focus off his life for what seemed like moments, only to return to find his wife seeking solace in the arms of another. Now he finds his wife's love interest, Governor Wallace Moreno, in the arms of the sea, tossed onto the beach as casually as he feels he was tossed aside by his soon-to-be-ex-wife Eleana, a government official.

State attorney Sally Solana has sought to rehabilitate him back to his former existence as an attorney after he was suspended for malpractice. When his wife and Sally disappear after the Moreno murder, he steps up to the challenge, all the while having to avoid becoming a suspect and therefore being detained.

L.B. Cobb's writing style takes full advantage of verisimilitude in a similar way many of W. Somerset Maugham's stories evoke a sense of confidence in the reader. She also uses those little twists and turns that keep you questioning and her chapter endings plunge you into the next page with a sense of undeniable curiosity.

The character development bonds the reader to the characters with heart-felt emotions and moral ambiguities, making them memorable and human.

"I heard the agony in her voice as the stainless blade of betrayal sliced into her heart. I closed my eyes and saw the crimson drops of heart pain, hers and mine. I said nothing. What could I say? That, in a moment of selfish, hurting need, I had betrayed her? That I felt her pain along with my own? That once I had pledged my love ... there wasn't any left for another? pg. 111

There are many moments of beauty and you will really start to love Bill for his thoughts. Be they the thoughts of a man in love or the conflicting thoughts he faces in trying to solve the mystery of his life. Or the humorous, laugh-out-loud contemplation of one witty guy who is trying not to take life too seriously, while learning life can be one serious game when those you love are in peril.

An expertly crafted mystery with a touch of sensual intrigue. Splendor bay will leave you amazed by the poetic justice of it all. The best mystery I've read, bar none. Told from a male perspective and sure to be loved by both sexes.

Summer reading at its best!

Also look for: ISBN 0970622406
Old Fashioned Recipes for Modern Cooks by L.B. Cobb

Promises Town due out in Sept, 2002
...and Port of Miracles in 2003

"Love is knowing you won't let go." ~Stevie Nicks, Trouble in Shangri-La

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Witty
Review: This is Ms Cobb's first novel and is a story about Bill Glasscock, or Fragile Dick to his friends. Bill wakes up at his girlfriend Sally's beach house on Splendor Bay and sees the city cops looking at a body on the beach that has diamond studs in his shirt. Bill being the good ex attorney and private investigator decides to wander down to the beach to find out the details of the John Doe that has appeared on his girlfriend's beach. Come to find out it is the Governor of the state, and said Governor is his ex or soon to be ex wife's boyfriend. His girlfriend also seems to be missing and Bill takes you on the search to find who did this to the Governor, because all fingers are pointing at him.

The dialogue in this book is very witty and I think it reminds me of the Robert B Parker Spenser series because of the sarcasm. I found it to be a very good, easy and fast book to read. Very likeable characters that you begin to really care about. A bit of a love story about how even though you have an ex wife, is she ever forgotten? Do you just stop loving her because you have found her in bed with the Governor? Do you stop loving the girlfriend because the ex wife that has just lost her boyfriend and tells you she still loves you? There is also your son of sixteen years to consider. Bill has been a bit of a bum for a while and what effect is that having on him. Should Bill get his act together and try and spend some time with Davey, or should he just let his wife worry about that.

There are lots of different twists and turns in this book and I found them delightful. I liked the interactions between Bill, his friends and extended family. I liked the fact of him being an ex-attorney on suspension and the dilemma about what he was going to do with the rest of his life. I would like to see this become a series, but my understanding is that she is in the in the process of having another novel published with new people. I for one will have to have a look at it.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Witty
Review: This is Ms Cobb's first novel and is a story about Bill Glasscock, or Fragile Dick to his friends. Bill wakes up at his girlfriend Sally's beach house on Splendor Bay and sees the city cops looking at a body on the beach that has diamond studs in his shirt. Bill being the good ex attorney and private investigator decides to wander down to the beach to find out the details of the John Doe that has appeared on his girlfriend's beach. Come to find out it is the Governor of the state, and said Governor is his ex or soon to be ex wife's boyfriend. His girlfriend also seems to be missing and Bill takes you on the search to find who did this to the Governor, because all fingers are pointing at him.

The dialogue in this book is very witty and I think it reminds me of the Robert B Parker Spenser series because of the sarcasm. I found it to be a very good, easy and fast book to read. Very likeable characters that you begin to really care about. A bit of a love story about how even though you have an ex wife, is she ever forgotten? Do you just stop loving her because you have found her in bed with the Governor? Do you stop loving the girlfriend because the ex wife that has just lost her boyfriend and tells you she still loves you? There is also your son of sixteen years to consider. Bill has been a bit of a bum for a while and what effect is that having on him. Should Bill get his act together and try and spend some time with Davey, or should he just let his wife worry about that.

There are lots of different twists and turns in this book and I found them delightful. I liked the interactions between Bill, his friends and extended family. I liked the fact of him being an ex-attorney on suspension and the dilemma about what he was going to do with the rest of his life. I would like to see this become a series, but my understanding is that she is in the in the process of having another novel published with new people. I for one will have to have a look at it.

Rating:
Summary: Great New Author
Review: What a fun book! As an avid reader of mysteries and legal thrillers, I was delighted to find such a talented new author. L. B. Cobb writes with just the right mix of mystery, humor, and romance. With a protagonist named Bill Glasscock..., you know you're in for an interesting ride from the very beginning. Bill's a man who left his lucrative job as an attorney to become an aging "beach bum" after finding his wife in bed with another man. The man just happens to be the governor who turns up dead on the beach - leaving Bill, his family, and friends as prime suspects. The setting could be your small town and the people, your high school buddies. The camaraderie and affection are evident in the good-natured bantering between old friends. Along with the unexpected twists and turns, Splendor Bay is a very entertaining summer read. I'm certainly looking forward to the next release from Ms. Cobb!