Of the number of literary characters who have been created by Stuart Kaminsky, I have found it the easiest to fall into reading his series of mysteries starring Lew Fonesca. These stories take place in sunny Sarasota, Florida, a very lovely city with the most cultural venues for its size in the state. However, that is not the Sarasota that we read about. As Lew Fonesca remarks, there is a dark side to Sarasota, a side filled with misfits and miscreants, and that is the side where he lives and works. Lew lives with the misfits, for he is one himself, and he chases after the miscreants as part of his job.

Kaminsky is among the best at creating quirky and off the wall characters who still manage to remain warm and appealing. Needless to say, the appeal of his characters is greatly enhanced by Kaminsky's sparkling dialogue which does much to elevate the pleasure of reading his books. 

As for Lew Fonesca, who cannot love a forlorn, sad sack kind of a guy who leaves Chicago and just drives south until his car dies behind a Dairy Queen in Sarasota, Florida, so he decides to stay there? Literally. Right behind the Dairy Queen in a small rundown office which also serves as his meager living quarters. Lew has spent five years in Sarasota since the loss of his beloved wife, and he gets by as a process server who works sporadically for a local law firm. He has lost all ambition and he would greatly prefer to pass the time of day sitting on the beach watching the seagulls flit back and forth in their never ending quest for food. 

Most detectives are ex-boxers or former mercenary soldiers who have a high level of testosterone which they use to their advantage with the thugs as well as with the ladies. Lew, on the other hand, is still mourning the death of his wife. She had been killed by a hit and run driver on Lake Shore Drive, and he was so distraught over her loss that he had to leave Chicago. As for his testosterone level, Lew is all of about five feet and seven inches in height, slight of build, and with a thinning hairline. The story reads like he would be blown over by a strong wind coming off Sarasota Bay.   

He admits that he does have one talent. "My specialty was in finding people. I'm not a cop. I'm not a lawyer. I'm not a private investigator. I'm not even an accountant." And then he follows that proclamation up with "My goal in life is to be left alone." Of course, if that were to be the case, then there would be no story, so suffice it to say that each Fonesca novel deals with what happens when Lew is not being left alone.

"Retribution" starts out admirably when Roberta Dreemer, who is also known as "Bubbles," slaps Lew on the side of his face after he has served her with papers. No doubt his visit chased the fizz out of her day. He leaves the trailer park where she lives sporting a large red mark on his cheek that will last for days and be mentioned by everyone he meets.

While nursing his sore cheek and sour mood at the Crisp Dollar Bill Bar, one of the local dives which he frequents, Lew is approached by a man he knows slightly as Marvin Uliaks. Marvin is another weird duck of a character who shuffles around and murmurs in such a way as to give away the fact that he is not all there. Marvin survives with the help of a few odd jobs, and now he has a need for Lew's help. It seems that he has lost contact with his sister, and he wants to find her again. 

Lew probes and finds out that the two siblings have not seen each other in decades. Neither is Marvin forthcoming as to why he wants Lew to find his sister, but he throws a wad of crumpled bills on the table and demands that he be allowed to avail himself of Lew's services. Lew thinks that this will be such an easy job that he returns most of the money, but keeps $40 for the next two days' worth of expenses at $20 a day. 

Then Lew finds a message on his telephone answering machine from Flo Zink. Flo sounds very distraught, and the slurring of her words gives strong evidence that she has fallen off the wagon. She is a brassy, blowzy widow who has been fostering Adele Hanford on the condition that she remain sober. Adele had been given to Flo after a court hearing had determined that she had acted in self defense in the killing of her abusive father. So far the match has seemed to work. Flo found a new direction in life, and Adele was doing well in high school. She was getting good grades and she had recently won an award in a writing competition. 

Lew will find out that the cause for Flo's distress is the fact that Adele has disappeared. Flo thinks that her disappearance has something to do with Conrad Lonsberg, that reclusive Salingeresque author with the private estate down at the end of the key who had called Adele up and offered to help her with her writing after her short story was published in the local paper. All of this is making his head spin and Lew wonders if he will be on time for his regular appointment with his "shrink," Ann Horowitz. 2001, a Forge Book published by Tom Doherty Associates.