A Death in Newport — Michael Hogan

When Michael Regan falls off the rocks to his death on the Ocean Drive, it is first seen as an accident. Regan's son Gary, a washed-up tennis pro living in Mexico, returns home to Newport, RI, for the funeral. He connects with an old friend who suspects Gary's father was murdered and that evidence is being suppressed. The death of a Latino teenager at Fort Adams State Park also seems to be related. Soon the underside of Newport is exposed as Gary discovers other deaths unresolved going all the way back to the 1960s with Doris Duke, the tobacco heiress a prime suspect. Full of the richness of an island paradise with the colorful vistas of Cliff Walk, Rough Point, and the Breakers' Mansion, this detective novel also explores the dark side of a resort town with its undesirables and socially marginal, as well as the super-rich, and powerful landowner-politicians. Meanwhile, for tennis fans, it also contains a compelling and action-filled match with sizzling serves and volleys.