A moment to prey by Harry Whittington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As this A cracking good book of a Florida that still exists, but generally unknown to most and shut out by the realtor/builder/developer/Media crowd. Florida still has a larger population than is known living in the woods and swamp. For those that don’t know, it’s as dangerous now as this was written, some 70 years ago.

Whittington drops his plot into the wilds of Florida and cuts loose. Apparently Whittington was born and raised somewhere north of Ocala. Where exactly, I haven’t been able to determine. His writing in this of Fort McCoy and Eureka Springs area, may answer the question.

The cuts loose i mention is to be discovered by the reader. Well worth the journey.

I love the mention of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings included. Thankfully, Whittington knows how to write and writes in low gear of natural Florida to get sharp focus of the plot.
His plot and writing are excellent. The suspense is very well written as Whittington drops in such scenes at just the right places.

I will note: The fate and conclusion of all is not as obvious as a reader might figure.
John D. MacDonald covered similar territory in some of his books a bit later, but without the working knowledge Whittington had.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 10 out of 10 points.

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