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Soon football as we know it will be over, and March Madness is a month away. What to do, what to do, what to do? Well as Mom always said; “You can always read a book!!”. And wow, do I have a book for you!!!

 Jim Kelly has written a true page turner for anyone interested in Vero Beach and local law enforcement. Kelly is a recent transplant to our little town. He moved here in the early 1980’s from his native Michigan and has been a police officer for the City of Vero Beach for almost all of his time here in Sunny Vero. Most of his work has been as a detective and from what I hear, a pretty good one.

 “Lost In Paradise” is kind of a Joe Friday meets Mickey Spillane with Vero Beach as the center of the action. and is an exciting read. Kelly incorporates a detective named “Rick Edwards” as the protagonist who could very well share a few similarities to Jim Kelly.

 Many of the cases in the book are based upon true Vero Beach crimes. The names have been changed to protect the innocent, as they say. Those familiar with Vero Beach crime over the years may recognize some of the cases. Others will be surprised that these type of atrocities have occurred in our fair little city by the sea. Kelly adds enough twists and turns along with some insightful motivation for the characters to make this a real work of fiction that is based on actual events.

This is Kelly’s first novel and although I do not think he will challenge Truman Capote’s place in the crime writers hall of fame, he has produced an interesting piece of work. As a Vero native, I did remember all of the cases and believe I was able to figure out the real people the fictionalized characters were written to portray.

If you have been around town for awhile, you will enjoy this book as a tribute to our town. If you are not from around here, you will enjoy it as a very good crime novel based upon the works of a very diligent police officer.

Good work Detective Kelly. You know how picky the Newports are and we are really looking forward to Rick Edwards next adventure in paradise.