NORTH BEACH
by
Miles
Arceneaux
It’s 1962 on the Texas Gulf Coast, and 15-year-old Charlie Sweetwater and his brother, Johnny, are happily oblivious to the world’s problems. Charlie’s main concerns are qualifying for an upcoming Golden Gloves boxing tournament, ducking a local bully and, with any luck, stealing a kiss from Carmen Delfín, the prettiest girl he’s ever laid eyes on.
Charlie’s last innocent summer ends abruptly when his boxing coach is murdered and his friend, a black Cuban boxer named Jesse Martel, is accused of the crime.
Their problems are compounded when Jesse becomes a political pawn in a high-stakes contest between Cuba and the CIA—a contest that intensifies when the Cuban Missile Crises begins, and the world’s two superpowers come within an eye blink of mutual destruction.
Through it all, Charlie and his brother are convinced that Jesse is innocent, and they are determined to find the real murderer—a remorseless killer who is stalking more victims—and clear Jesse’s name before time runs out. Suddenly the Sweetwater boys find themselves navigating through a world that is much bigger, more complicated, and scarier than they ever imagined.
EXCERPT FROM NORTH BEACH
As we drove over the tall hump of the Harbor Bridge, I gazed down at the North Beach neighborhood below. It looked gloomy and pitiful and dark. . . . Once it had been a popular tourist destination, full of boisterous crowds of vacationers, stevedores, and sailors, along with local well-to-do families. Billboards promoted it as Texas’s own Coney Island, “the Playground of the South.” I had vivid childhood memories of the long fishing pier, the saltwater swimming pool with its high-diving board, and next to it, the Surf Bath House, where you could rinse off in a fresh-water shower after swimming, and then order an ice cream float from the soda fountain. . . . You could see clear to Mustang Island from the top of the Ferris wheel. . . .
But North Beach had changed since then. The carnival and amusement park went broke after the causeway was constructed, and a few years later, when the pivoting Bascule Bridge was replaced by the high-arch Harbor Bridge, people and cars began to hurry past the area as if it were a drunk passed out on the street. You could stare as you went by, but you sure didn’t want to stop. . . . Now only a few greasy spoons, pawn shops, dollar-a-day-flophouses, and a handful of windowless bars remained—bars off the beaten path, bars that people went to when they didn’t want to be seen, or found.
“Johnny?”
“What, brother man?”
“Do you think Rachel would’ve been crazy enough to duck into one of those North Beach joints?”
He eased his foot off the accelerator, thinking about it, and then zipped over to catch the last North Beach exit before the Nueces Bay Causeway. “It’s worth a shot,” he answered. “And, yeah, I think she’s crazy enough.”
Praise for Miles Arceneaux:
“Miles Arceneaux named among the top five Texas authors of 2014.”
Mystery People, Top Five Texas Authors of 2014, December 23, 2014
Praise for Ransom Island:
“A seamless, atmospheric and sardonic comic thriller.”
The Dallas Morning News, Book review: Four mysteries with Texas ties, December 26, 2014
Praise for La Salle’s Ghost:
“Arceneaux keeps the story moving and the suspense building, working in plenty of
humor along the way.”
Glenn Dromgoole, Texas Reads, September 7, 2013
Praise for Thin Slice of Life:
“An engaging crime caper. This book hits the mark.”
— Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2012
Blurbs for Ransom Island:
“Like Carl Hiaasen and John D. MacDonald, Miles Arceneaux sets his dark doings by blue water, and has a ball doing it. He makes me want to run away to the islands—Galveston, Mustang or Padre—and sip a tall, cold glass of gin-and-something while I read his latest tale. RANSOM ISLAND may be his best one yet.”
Sarah Bird, Best Selling Author of Above the East Sea China, September 2014
Blurbs for La Salle’s Ghost:
“The story would make a good film . . . Seamlessly plotted and beautifully told.”
— Lubbock Avalanche Journal
Blurbs for Thin Slice of Life:
“Miles Arceneaux has written a classic . . . steeped in salt-air atmosphere that just can’t be faked . . . It’s as if Dashiell Hammett had grown up on the Texas Gulf Coast.”
Stephen Harrigan, Best Selling Author of The Gates of the Alamo
“The best suspense novel I’ve read since Cormac What’s-His-Name.”
— Kinky Friedman, Governor of the Heart of Texas
The author of four funny, fast-paced novels of intrigue set on the Texas Gulf Coast, Miles Arceneaux is a one-of-a-kind writer. Or, to be precise, he is three-of-a-kind. The irreverent persona of “Miles” is the product of three friends, lifelong Texans, and Gulf Coast aficionados.
Brent Douglass’ inspiration for Miles’ tales stems from his family’s deep Texas coastal roots, and the iconoclastic characters he crossed paths with growing up there. James R. Dennis’ intimate knowledge of both sides of the law (he’s one of the good guys, it should be mentioned) and his deep appreciation for Texas Rangers lore helps keep Miles’ protagonists on the side of the angels. As a longtime journalist covering Texas and Texans, John T. Davis has sometimes been accused of writing fiction, but this is the first time he has set out to do it on purpose. Together, Douglass, Dennis and Davis make “Miles Arceneaux” truly more than the sum of his parts.
By Deana Dick
I've heard this book described as a coming of age book and it is a perfect description of this story . It is set in 1962 when the U. S. and Cuba were not on good terms. Charlie Sweetwater and his brother Johnny have one thing in their mind. They want to be boxing champions and spend a lot of time at the gym working with a boxing coach. The coach is a no nonsense kind of man who believes in hard work. The boys are not concerned about the world troubles and they find one day that a bomb shelter is being built in their yard. I can only imagine what a teenager would of thought in those days seeing their dad furiously building a shelter that you could hardly move in. Charlie and Johnny had more pressing matters to attend to. They wanted to champion Golden Glove winners. Their coach introduces them to Jesse, a very promising up and coming boxer. It seems that others have their eyes on Jesse as well. He is offered to come train with someone else and his coach and him turn the offer down. This is where the action really starts to takeoff in the book. The coach is found murdered and Jesse is arrested for the crime. The brothers have no doubt that Jesse did not do it, but they are afraid to come forth with information thst could prove him innocent. Will they do the right thing and speak up? The book introduces readers to very sinister characters that could impact many lives. Their power is felt throughout many cities and could have an impact on the government. I enjoyed the storyline about the Cuban Missle Crisis and how the author weaved it into the book with clarity and added tension to the book. the book is well written and has mystery, intrigue and a bit of history in the story. If you like coming of age books with mystery and the 1960s , this is a perfect book to pick up.
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