Cold Florida: A hard-boiled mystery set in Florida

By Phillip DePoy

Introducing former car thief and amateur sleuth Foggy Moskowitz in the first of a brand-new noir mystery series.

It’s 1974. Foggy Moskowitz, a Jewish car thief on the run from the Brooklyn authorities, ends up in Florida working for the first office of Child Protective Service. For personal reasons.

An unlikely, but tenacious, child protection officer, he takes on an investigation to find a missing infant, taken from the hospital by her addict mother. But the case takes several unexpected turns as Foggy makes his way from seedy Fry's Bay to Indian Seminole swampland, undertaking a vision quest, a rite of passage in some Native American cultures, in the process.

Along the way he encounters more than a few interesting characters, including John Horse, an Indian mystic, and works to foil a vast land-grab scam by an uber-rich felon.

Amusing yet moving, mixing passion with pathos, and introducing some memorable characters, Phillip DePoy has created a hugely entertaining new series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Severn House Digital
• Release date: Apr 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781780107394

Phillip DePoy

Phillip DePoy is the director of the theatre program at Clayton State University and author of several novels, including The Witch's Grave and A Minister's Ghost. He lives in Decatur, Georgia.

Reviews for Cold Florida

[laytonwoman3rd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun, fun, fun. It's 1974. Foggy Moskowitz, a one-time car thief from NYC, escaped his last arrest by being declared dead after being thrown from the police car during a high speed chase. He came to in the morgue, declared himself not dead, slipped out unnoticed, and decided Florida was a good place to hide out and start over. He also decided to turn straight and maybe atone for his sins, which isn't as easy as it sounds even in tiny little Fry's Bay. But he manages to get a job in the newly created Child Protection Services agency, and sets out to save a drug addicted newborn when its mother absconds with it from the hospital. Then things get tricky. There are rich bastards, and more druggies, and mystical Seminoles to contend with, and it's always raining, and who can a guy trust anyway? A little like Carl Hiassen, but slightly less whacky, maybe? Just exactly what the doctor ordered, anyway. April 2020