Synopses & Reviews
Provincetown police detective Frank Coffin had been a well-respected Baltimore homicide detective. But when he started having panic attacks at crime scenes and fainting at the sight of corpses, he was forced to pack it in and go home to Cape Cod, where the most gruesome crimes confronting P'towns five year-round cops were usually break-ins, bicycle thefts and domestic disputes.
After eight uneventful years, a vacationing TV evangelist turns up dead on the beach at Herring Cove, wearing a wig, a pink-and-yellow muumuu, and a pair of size-twelve pumps. Not to mention the raspberry-colored taffeta scarf strangling his neck. Ordinarily, the Cape and Islands DA's office and the State Police investigate major crimes on the Cape, but P'town's powers-that-be are nervous. Coffin's given a choice by the new police chief: investigate or lose his job.
So Frank and his partner, Officer Lola Winters, an ex--army MP, start out on the trail of a killer, visiting the restaurants and tourist spots the evangelist and his wife visited by day, and the drag bars and isolated trysting spots he might have frequented at night. As the body count begins to rise, however, it becomes alarmingly clear that this wasn't an isolated incident: A killer with an agenda is at large in Provincetown.
Tracking a murderer is something Coffin hoped he'd never have to do again, and the experience triggers the same nightmares that plagued the end of his time in Baltimore. And if his life isn't complicated enough, Frank's girlfriend Jamie thinks she's being stalked by an overzealous suitor; his senile mother is stirring up trouble at the nursing home; and everyone in town has a theory about who's committing the murders.
Funny, sexy, and dark in equal measures, High Season is a mystery for anyone who's ever fallen in love with a seaside town.
Review
“[AN] ENTERTAINING WHODUNIT…WITH AN EASYGOING SLEUTH.”—MARILYN STASIO, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
“[A] darkly comic Cape Cod caper…razor-sharp.”—Chicago Tribune
"Loomis, a prize-winning poet in his other literary life, tosses off some wonderful descriptions ... yet none of his wordsmithery gets showy or interferes with this debonair, dry little mystery. With his honed sense of humor and keen mise en scene, Loomis is a keeper." —The Washington Post
“A model mystery, told in winning fashion.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“In High Season, Jon Loomis absolutely nails Provincetown, arguably the funkiest and most interesting town in the United States, and stakes it out for what I hope will be many more Frank Coffin yarns to come. Loomis is a terrific writer. Hes funny and wise, and he knows how to build tension.”—William G. Tapply, author of One-Way Ticket
“Full of entertaining twists and sly observations, this is a perfect book for late summer reading.”—Publishers Weekly
“High Season is much like Provincetown, a gleeful mélange of joyous contradictions and peculiar characters in a community with a dark underbelly and glittery joie de vivre.”—The Cape Codder
“Written with humor and pathos and incorporating small-town philosophy, this is a terrific mystery debut.”
—Library Journal
“Witty, gritty, and full of unforgettably colorful characters, High Season is a highly impressive debut!” —Chris Grabenstein, author of Whack-A-Mole
“Very funny and very tense. A great read.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Loomis steadily raises the tension and keeps you guessing almost till the end, making High Season
a fun read.”—Bay Windows
“Loomis writes with warmth and wisdom, auguring well for further Coffin adventures.” —Kirkus Reviews
“High Season is peppered with some juicy glimpses into good and bad, evil pitted against ‘right, and
in the telling you can see that the author had some fun with his subject.—The Provincetown Banner
Synopsis
Advance Praise for High Season
"In High Season Jon Loomis absolutely nails Provincetown, arguably the funkiest and most interesting town in the United States, and stakes it out for what I hope will be many more Frank Coffin yarns to come. Loomis is a terrific writer. He's funny and wise, and he knows how to build tension. I really liked this book."---William G. Tapply, author of One-Way Ticket
"Witty, gritty, and full of unforgettably colorful characters, High Season is a highly impressive debut!"---Chris Grabenstein, author of Whack-A-Mole
Synopsis
In his debut mystery, Loomis combines razor-sharp wit with a driving plot, in this novel featuring Provincetown police detective Frank Coffin, who investigates the scandalous death of a television evangelist. Martin's Press.
Synopsis
Jon Loomiss “auspicious fiction debut” (Publishers Weekly) is a fast-paced, funny mystery featuring Cape Cod cop Frank Coffin, who discovers that murder in Provincetown can be a real drag…
“[AN] ENTERTAINING WHODUNIT…WITH AN EASYGOING SLEUTH.”—MARILYN STASIO, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
Frank Coffin had been a well-respected Baltimore homicide detective. But when he started having panic attacks at crime scenes, he was forced to go home to Cape Cod, where the worst crimes were usually break-ins, bicycle thefts, and domestic disputes. That is, until a vacationing televangelist turns up dead on the beach wearing a wig, a muumuu, and one size-twelve pump. Not to mention the raspberry-colored taffeta scarf strangling his neck.
“[A] darkly comic Cape Cod caper…razor-sharp.”—Chicago Tribune
Frank and his partner, Officer Lola Winters, begin checking out the drag bars and isolated trysting spots the reverend might have frequented. However, when the body count starts to rise, ,it becomes alarmingly clear that a killer with an agenda is at large in Provincetown. And Coffins fears—like unwelcome summer tourists—have returned in full force…
“A model mystery, told in winning fashion.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch
Synopsis
Frank Coffin had been a well-respected Baltimore homicide detective. But when he started having panic attacks at crime scenes, he was forced to go home to Cape Cod, where the worst crimes were usually break-ins, bicycle thefts, and domestic disputes. That is, until a vacationing televangelist turns up dead on the beach wearing a wig, a muumuu, and one size-twelve pump. Not to mention the raspberry-colored taffeta scarf strangling his neck.
Frank and his partner, Officer Lola Winters, begin checking out the drag bars and isolated trysting spots the reverend might have frequented. However, when the body count starts to rise, ,it becomes alarmingly clear that a killer with an agenda is at large in Provincetown. And Coffins fears—like unwelcome summer tourists—have returned in full force…
About the Author
Jon Loomis is the author of two collections of poetry, Vanitas Motel, which won the 1997 FIELD Poetry Prize, and The Pleasure Principle. Twice a Writing Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Loomis has also been awarded the Jay C. and Ruth Halls Fellowship in Poetry at the University of Wisconsin, and has been the recipient of grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the Virginia Commission for the Arts. He lives with his wife and son in west-central Wisconsin. High Season is his first novel.