Restaurateur Rick Cahill Is Haunted by Yesterday's Echo

Rick Cahill is a former cop from Santa Barbara who left the force under a cloud when his wife was found murdered. The detective investigating the crime believes that Cahill was guilty of the murder, but did not have enough evidence to make the case. The cloud of suspicion has followed Cahill for the last eight years, even down to La Jolla, the beautiful seaside community that exists within the city of San Diego. Cahill is now the managing partner of an upscale restaurant there and is attempting to maintain a low profile while he builds his life anew.

That's easier said than done, because Cahill is one of those guys who simply seems to draw trouble like a magnet. One night the wife of the mayor of San Diego gets obnoxiously drunk in the restaurant. Her husband is making a run for the California governorship, and Cahill attempts to get the woman out of the restaurant without creating a scandal, either for her or her husband. He puts her in a cab and sends her home. 

That same night, a beautiful TV reporter named Melody Malana shows up, perhaps in pursuit of a story about the governor's wife. Melody winds up in Cahill's bed that night, and he thinks this could be his chance to find true love again. But then a murder occurs and Cahill gets tangled up in an awful mess. It's like deja vu all over again, and Cahill finds himself a principal suspect.

This is one of those novels in which a man is trapped in a bad situation by circumstances beyond his control and in which he can't trust anyone other than himself. The only way to salvation is for Cahill to unravel a very tangled web of deceit, but very clever and deadly forces are arrayed against him. It will take all his wits and a lot of good luck if he's to avoid winding up either dead or in jail this time around.

This book moves along at a breakneck pace, and the character of Rick Cahill is gradually revealed as the story unfolds. He's an interesting guy and you feel for the situation in which he finds himself. That said, I had a bit of trouble buying into the story because Cahill continued to make decisions that I found questionable. Still, it's an entertaining novel--the first in the Rick Cahill series--and if you can suspend disbelief, it's quite a ride.