H. Terrell Griffin has crafted a great mystery in Blood Island, a novel set in Longboat Key, Florida. It is the third book featuring semi-retired lawyer Matt Royal. Griffin, a trial lawyer himself, adds authenticity to his books by letting readers know what is and is not legal as Royal and his buddy, Logan Hamilton, mix it up with bad guys. Griffins' first novel, Longboat Blues, came out in 2005, with Murder Key following a year later. Readers have often called Matt Royal a Travis McGee with a law degree because of Royal's physical prowess and his intelligence.

In Blood Island, Royal is asked by his ex-wife to find her stepdaughter, Peggy, who has gone missing during spring break in Sarasota. Peggy was last seen at a revival tent of the Rev. Robert William Simmermon, an evangelist who has a dark agenda that involves politics and sex. Royal and Logan Hamilton soon find themselves looking into a number of other disappearances and a suspicious brothel called the Heaven Can't Wait Spa, along with a number of unsavory characters. As the body count rises around Royal and Logan, they soon find out that there is more being plotted than a take of the prostitutes' revenues.

Normally, I don't enjoy first person narratives, but Griffin presents Royal's voice so comfortably that I hardly noticed. I did find the landscape wonderful and Griffin's descriptions vivid, as if I were relaxing in Florida as one of the residents and not a tourist. The characterizations were very good and the plot was excellent. I did, however, find Royal reaching for his gun a lot more than I thought a civilian would. But Royal is supposed to be an ex-Green Beret so maybe we can chalk that up to training.

Blood Island was a great read! I'm certainly going to reach for more H. Terrell Griffin and his Matt Royal tales.