Staff Picks Blog

The Last Refuge by Chris Knopf should be part of your vacation reading this summer — especially if you’re off to the Hamptons.  Sam Acquillo mostly just sits, drinking and reading, in his late parents’ dilapidated house in Southampton, Long Island.  He gets out occassionally to hit balls for his dog and does odd jobs for his ungrateful neighbor Regina.  A former corporate design engineer, who left that world (which included his high society wife) when he was asked to groom his division for a take over, he’s got an active mind and time on his hands.  When he finds Regina dead in her bathtub he gradually gets pulled into a mystery because he can’t quit asking questions and the small town police chief is happy for the help.  Sam is an interesting character at an interesting time in his life.  The dialogue, both internal and external, is snappy,  the characters colorful, the setting a character all it’s own.  This is the first Sam Acquillo title, the third has just been published.  I’m off to find number two!