Author of the
Mick Murphy Key West Mysteries
I have been following for more than a year the Los Angeles Times' great series, Crisis in Mexico that deals with the awful drug war going on south of our borders.
I spent most of twenty-eight summers in Tijuana, Mexico attending bullfights and during that time, I made many friends. I even wrote two unpublished novels with Tijuana as the main setting.
Once outside the tourist area, Tijuana is a great city, or should I say was. I always felt safe on the streets late at night and found the people friendly. My twin daughters, Seanan and Chela, spent many of those summers with me and I would not have endangered them. I ate in great restaurants, befriended matadors, federal, state and city officials, as well as residents.
Since moving to Key West, I have made friends with a military intelligence officer and a retired DEA agent. As I discussed my second book with Jim, the intelligence officer, he pointed out some situations that needed correction, which led me to discuss my idea for "Car Wash Blues." You can imagine how surprised I was to find out Jim was well versed in the Mexican cartels, as well as the Colombian cartels, but what really surprised me was his knowledge of the Tijuana cartels.
When Ken, the DEA agent, and I became friends and I discussed the third book, I was again surprised to discover that Ken and his wife, Heidi, were the DEA agents in San Diego while I was living in LA, and also knew a lot about the Tijuana cartels.
I have a notebook filled with copies of the LA Times' articles and another notebook filled with info from my two friends. All of it, I hope, will make the gruesome details I expect will appear within the story factual and not just gore for gore sakes.
Briefly, "Car Wash Blues" deals with Murphy's background and his devastating experiences with a Mexican drug lord. You will have to buy the book to find out why the Tijuana cartel is after Murphy, but it has to do with something they believe he was recently involved in. The cartel sends men to Key West and they bring their brutality with them.
Haskins's second Mick Murphy Key West mystery (after 2008's Chasin' the Wind) offers more gunfights than developed characters. On their way to a romantic lunch, journalist Murphy and his sometime girlfriend, attorney Tita Toledo, see Murphy's waterfront friend, Jay Bruehl, fall to his death from the roof of six-story Hotel Key West. Written 2012
When Mick Murphy stops at night on U.S. 1 to assist a teenage girl in distress, his world begins to unravel. Chased by thugs, the girl is traumatized and can’t speak to Murphy. Once at home, his live-in Irish girlfriend Peggy Naughton helps communicate with the teenager. Written 2016
After two suspicious deaths in Key West, Mick Murphy gets caught up in a conspiracy theorist dream. Corrupt Florida politicians, all the way to the governor, land developers and banks are ready to develop the pristine Keys, including Murphy's beloved Key West. Written 2015
A pregnant woman friend of Mick Murphy's is beaten to death. As she lay dying Murphy promises to make the killer face justice. His pursuit takes him and his mismatched eclectic friends to the Ocala National Forest looking for a meth lab run by outlaw bikers. Written 2015
A simple request of Mick Murphy to find his cousin Cecil Fahey turns into a struggle of avoiding irate SAS soldiers determined to kill Cecil for his IRA activities in the '80s. Written 2014
When journalist Mick Murphy runs into his love fantasy in a wintry Harvard Yard, he is soon dragged into a web of brutal killings that began in Boston and end in Southern California. Written 2011
When I first came to Tijuana, Mexico, more than 20 years ago, it was a sleepy border town, minutes from San Diego, California, where liquor was cheap and women plentiful. Written 2011
"Chasin' the Wind" nails the colorful and often violent action in both Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba. It navigates corruption and small town politics in the southernmost city of the United States. Written 2009
I have been following for more than a year the Los Angeles Times' great series, Crisis in Mexico that deals with the awful drug war going on south of our borders. Written 2013
When Mick Murphy discovers the body of a Cold War female assassin he is draw into a drama that includes a hit man for Boston gangster Whitey Bulger and some semi-retired Cold War agents in search of $20 million in diamonds taken by a rogue agent. Written 2011
Because of the destructive ending of Stairway to the Bottom, this sequel begins with Norm telling the story. If you haven't read the earlier book, you should before reading the sequel. Mick Murphy begins telling the story in the book's second part, when the crew returns to Key West. Written 2013
Finding Picasso, Murder in Key West, The Floater, Drumstick Murder and Shamus Award Nominee ... Vampire Slayer Murdered in Key West