Review: Water Hazard by Don Dahler

I didn’t think I’d like Water Hazard by Don Dahler. It’s a mystery novel. It’s manly. It’s about golf. I dated a pro golfer in high school. Our four years together was enough birdies and eagles and par for me, thank you very much.

But I needed a book to take with me on my weekend trip, and the galley of Water Hazard came right before I left (it’ll be published in March). Despite a wobbly start, I got sucked into the story of Huck Doyle, sometimes pro golfer, sometimes private eye, as he runs around Hawaii trying to solve his friend’s father’s murder while also playing in a pro golf tournament. There’s plenty of booze, babes and golf talk. I skimmed through most of the golf stuff, which made the reading easier.

It’s an incredibly male novel, but I ended up liking it anyway. It reminded me of all those Clive Cussler novels I read as a teenager. For an airport book it was pretty good. It kept me occupied during the three-hour delay on my flight to Minneapolis, and on my three hour wait on the way home. The latter wasn’t because of a delay. Apparently, USAirways stopped letting people fly standby for free if you’re trying to get on a flight that’s not completely full. Harumph. But this book made the wait more bearable, which is what a good mystery novel should do.