A Witness Above

Frank Pavlicek Mysteries, Book 1

By: Andy Straka

Narrated by: Eddie Frierson

Thirteen years ago, Frank Pavlicek left the NYPD under less than ideal circumstances. Now, the divorced father of a teenage daughter, he works as a private investigator in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he indulges his passion for falconry - and tries to live outside the shadow of his past.

Frank is hunting with his red-tailed hawk Armistead, when he finds it. A teenage boy's body - barely concealed behind a pile of brush. But what Frank finds in the dead boy's wallet is even more disturbing: his daughter's phone number, scribbled in ink on the edge of a bill. He pockets the evidence and flees. Days later, his daughter is in jail. His past is coming back to haunt him. And his reputation - and life - are on the line.

Originally published by NAL/Signet/Penguin.

©2010 Andy Straka (P)2014 AP Audio Books

A Private Eye, Falcons, and Dead Boy

Interesting and different, A Witness Above, is the story of Frank Pavlicek, an ex-cop, turned private eye, who runs into the body of a teenage boy while out hunting with his red-tailed falcon in the hills of Virginia. Frank's bread and butter for the past thirteen years has been divorce and non-violent cases, NOT murder, since leaving the NYPD. But what he finds in the teenager's wallet changes all that. The Virginia accents are spot on, as well as many of the attitudes of whites versus blacks. I appreciated that the book wasn't full of expletives, yet was an excellent mystery. The faith and love expressed by the mother of the murdered boy and the way she reached out to Pavlicek was one of my favorite parts of the book. Great listen!