By Steven M. Forman
Eddie Perlmutter is a decorated but aging Boston cop making a new life in Boca Raton, Florida as a private detective. Perlmutter is fierce and acerbic with a libido to match his personality. His knees are giving out, but not his drive. That's a good thing, because Boca is not Boston. Everything about this town is new to Perlmutter, that is everything but the bad guys!
I bought Boca Knights years ago with the intentions of reading a local author whose books take place in my former hometown of Boca Raton, Florida. At the time, in my busyness, I never got past the first few pages and I left this crusader sitting on my round table. Then in an effort to FINISH some unfinished reading I picked it up again, gave Forman's work a little more time and attention -- and forty pages in, he had me.
I appreciate the author's attention to historical detail. Those from South Florida in general and Boca Raton in particular will appreciate the way he weaves history into his fiction. And yes, he even knows how to pronounce Boca Raton (rhymes with "tone" not "tawn"). If you enjoy mystery and action, I think you will like Boca Knights. It's a good whodunit that delivers plenty of pop. As the title suggests, Boca Knights is a "crusade novel," the author championing foster care while attacking antisemitism, especially that robed in the cloth of aryanism.
I enjoyed Boca Knights. It was a good mystery with a distinct protagonist and plenty of action. Forman is planting a Boston street cop in the gated paradise of Boca Raton so I get his character's distinctiveness, but I tired of Permutter's wisecracks, comebacks, and constant devotion to his sexual drive and "Mr. Johnson." Forman beats the human rights drum. I heard echoes of Rodney King as he argues for everyone's right to "Live the life you choose in peace."
Forman pleads for "peace on earth good will toward men." That is idyllic, but he gives us no Savior to bring it. Perlmutter certainly doesn't believe in Christ. That point is made crystal clear throughout the pages as most anything "Christian" is painted in a negative light. Perlmutter is a good cop, but the best he -- and this novel -- can offer is a bubble gum philosophy with with the transformational power of cotton candy.
