A Black Sail by Rich Zahradnik GIVEAWAY

The time is the 200^th birthday of the United States. It's going to be a celebration in New York City with many tall ships, from a variety of nations, visiting the harbor. Coleridge Taylor, a reporter for a radio and print news service, is on a police boat a few days before the big event. Between bouts of sea sickness, he's getting background for feature articles. A bigger story presents itself when the boat received a radio message about something dumped off a pier. A woman's body is pulled up and Taylor is off investigating.

The murdered woman had packets of heroin taped to her body and Taylor seeks to find out why. He follows a lead to a heroin den. It's a new strain on the streets, the packets bearing the stamp of a black sail. All too soon his lead to the supplier is dead. There are three gangs in town. Is there a drug war going on? Can he find the answer and write the story before more lives are the cost?

I like Taylor as a character. He has that journalistic bent of needing to investigate the murder to write the story. He is tenacious, getting into dangerous situations himself. It was fun to follow him through the streets, bars, and hangouts of New York. We really get a flavor of what the city was like at the time.

This is a mystery set in an interesting time period. There is much in the novel about the era, especially music. Many songs of the mid 1970s are mentioned, as are the devices upon which they were played. Remember reel-to-reel tape decks and eight-track players? There is also a great deal about historical ships. We find out the difference between a full-rigged ship and a bark, for example.

I recommend this novel to those who enjoy a historical mystery that is character driven. You'll find out about New York City, drug trafficking, historical ships, period music, and have a good mystery as well. 

I am taking part in a blog tour of this book. Click here to view the 'A Black Sail by Rich Zahradnik' Tour Participants.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Rich Zahradnik received his BA in journalism and political science from George Washington University and was a journalist for 30 years. He has held editorial positions in several major news corporations. He lives in Pelham, New York with his wife and son, where he teaches kids how to publish online and print newspapers. He is the award-winning author of the Coleridge Taylor Mystery series. A Black Sail is the third in the series. The second installment, Drop Dead Punk, won the gold medal for mystery/thriller ebook in the 2016 Independent Publishers Book Awards. It was also named a finalist in the mystery category of the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Last Words won the bronze medal for mystery/thriller ebook in the 2015 IPPYs and honorable mention fir mystery in the 2015 Foreward Reviews IndieFab Book of the Year Awards. You can find out more at www.richzahradnik.com. You can follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Published by: Camel Press

Publication Date: Oct 2016

Number of Pages: 264

ISBN: 1603812113 (IASN13: 9781603812115)

Series: Coleridge Taylor Mystery, 3^rd (Stand Alone Novel)

Purchase Your Copy of A Black Sail by Rich Zahradnik on Amazon, Barnes &Noble, GoodReads.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for the purpose of an independent and honest review.