Outzen excels at detailing the environment, especially the town in the aftermath of the destructive storm. The tale boasts a bit of mystery since the killers responsible for a murder or two later in the story aren’t immediately apparent. And though identifying the culprits isn’t difficult, watching a determined Walker search for solid evidence is certainly gratifying.
Author: RMOutzen
San Carlos Hotel & Mr. Ball
In City of Grudges, Walker Holmes and Big Boy jog past the San Carlos hotel –“The Gray Lady of Palafox.” Built in 1910, lumber magnate and shipbuilder Frasier Bingham envisioned it would rival the upscale hotels in New Orleans, Mobile, and Atlanta when it opened on the first day of Mardi Gras celebrations. Over the…
Bangkok Garden & Furbies
A challenge with City of Grudges was explaining Bangkok Garden to my editors. My description was too unbelievable from them. Once again, photos won them over. The restaurant was in an old Western Sizzlin’ location on the edge of Town and Country Plaza, a once thriving shopping center in midtown where nail salons, wig shops,…
The Arts Council of NWFL
Pensacola once had an arts council. For four decades, its board was one of the most popular ones for someone to be asked to serve. Then the wheels fell off in disastrous fashion—to such an extent that no one mentions it anymore.
William ‘Gravy’ Graves Jr.
One of the most popular characters of City of Grudges is William “Gravy” Graves Jr.––Walker Holmes’ attorney. Former Florida Senate President Don Gaetz loves reading stories about Gravy. Gravy got his nickname for his daily breakfast regimen of biscuits and gravy at CJ’s Kitchen & Grille. No matter how late he was out the previous…
Remembering Roger MacDonald
In the Walker Holmes thrillers, Roger Fairley, the publisher’s mentor, is somewhat modeled after my dear friend Roger MacDonald, who passed away in 2015. When Inweekly began its Martini Nights at the Global Grill in November 2005, Roger was a regular though we had to share him with choir practice at St Christopher’s Episcopal Church….
Blood in the Water available now
Walker Holmes’ world has fallen apart yet again—his girlfriend has left him, an expose on human trafficking has led to his source being brutally murdered, and his nemesis, Sheriff Ron Frost, appears to be unstoppable in his pursuit of a third term. The alt-weekly newspaper publisher’s life becomes even more chaotic when a flood shuts down Pensacola, leaving…
City of Grudges
For the past decade, Walker Holmes has published the Pensacola Insider, a weekly newspaper that struggles to stay solvent while reporting on corruption, racism and injustice. Situated on the Florida Panhandle on the Florida-Alabama border, the coastal town has struggled to reach its potential, but progress has always been held back by grudges, many of…
Praise for City of Grudges
City of Grudges captures my hometown of Pensacola, Florida, much the same way Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil immortalized Savannah.”City of Grudges” captures my hometown of Pensacola, Florida much the same way. —JOE SCARBOROUGH, Co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe