Description
Swan Dive focuses on “Blue” Heron, a down-and-out detective with a roaming eye who gets much too involved in a complex business deal, a deal which results in embezzlement, swindling, sexual misconduct, and murder. Along the way, Blue discovers a great deal about himself while trying to understand the subterfuge. One of his problems is that he often gets too entranced with whatever woman is nearest to be able to concentrate on the job he’s being paid to do. That makes for trouble.
Michael Burke, the son of the prolific literary critic and writer Kenneth Burke, is a sculptor and graphic artist living and working in New York City. Michael Burke arrived on the mystery scene with a rich and varied history. Following his graduation from Harvard (1960), and a tour in the army, his first career was in astronomy. He spent four years with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, gathering data on orbiting satellites in observatories from Hawaii to Iran. Michael Burke then earned a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University (1969). He worked in the planning department of New York City and taught in the Graduate School of City Planning at Columbia. In a rebellious mood in 1974, he left the planning field, declared himself an artist and moved into an illegal loft in Tribeca (NYC). Thirty years of a career in painting and sculpture has featured exhibitions and installations in the US and Europe. His work can be seen at http://www.michaelburke-art.net/
Sidney Offit, author of Memoir of the Bookie’s Son –
“Move over, Dashiell Hammett. Make room, Cornell Woolrich. With his first novel, Swan Dive, Michael Burke joins the pantheon of private eye muses. This fast-paced who-done-it is a masterful achievement of unpredictable narrative cast with diverse and engaging characters. Michael Burke spices his tale with an artist”s eye and philosopher’s wit.”
John Gruen, author of Callas Kissed Me…Lenny Too! –
“Where has Michael Burke been hiding? His first book, a detective thriller called SWAN DIVE–has the speed and sex of Spillane, the plotting of Chandler and the wit and charm of Hammett. There’s money, murder and mayhem and, to keep things bubbling, a bevy of gorgeous women—the most tempting and intriguing of whom may just be Leda and the Swan! I couldn’t put it down.”