Spark

In John Lutz's seventh mystery of this acclaimed series, disabled Florida P.I. Fred Carver is hired by the redoubtable Hattie Evans to investigate the death of her seventy-year-old husband, Jerome. Although the doctors say he had a heart attack, an anonymous note claiming Jerome was murdered stirs Hattie's doubts about the cause of her husband's death. The Evanses lived in Solartown, one of the new breed of retirement communities catering to all the needs of its residents: golf course, health center, grocery store, recreation facility - everything but a morgue. An ideal kind of place; that is, until Carver begins to suspect that the good people of Solartown may be dying just a bit too soon. Is the community really as benign as it appears on the surface, or does it harbor a very methodical killer? Another death brings Carver and Hattie tragically closer to the secrets hidden within the seemingly serene, pastel-colored walls of Solartown's homes. But a torturous encounter with a sadistic and homicidal addict and a shattering series of events tell Carver that a conspiracy of good intentions and corporate greed may be to blame - and may also be the end of him.