The Fires of Pahokee

About the Book

THE FIRES of PAHOKEE

A Synopsis

The brutal rape and murder of his mother forces Tom Thurlow, a charter fisherman operating his own boat out of West Palm Beach, to despise and distrust his own masculinity.  His feelings are tested when Nancy Spofford, willful, liberated daughter of Palm Beach wealth, aggressively pursues him.  When Tom discovers that his recluse father shares his home in Pahokee, Florida, with a beautiful young Haitian woman, Mariette Dolce, his convictions about men's sexual depravity are certified, placing his budding romance with Nancy in serious jeopardy.  

Nancy's father, Angus Spofford, hoping to establish his daughter in high places of Palm Beach society, erupts in maniacal opposition to her relationship with Tom.  He devises a plan to ruin Tom's life and thus end the relationship.  To carry out the plan, he enlists the help of Avery Simpkins, his financial advisor and a highly eligible Palm Beach bachelor.  Avery lusts after Nancy in personification of everything Tom Thurlow has come to hate about sex-hungry men.  He is an eager co-conspirator with Angus, yet he finds himself dealing with underworld figures who fill him with fright.

Nancy's mother, Annie Spofford, does her best to smooth the lovers' way but is frustrated by her husband's dictatorial dominance -- until events force her into a role of matriarchal leadership.

Action varies from the high seas of the Atlantic Ocean off southeast Florida to the halls of high society in Palm Beach to the mundane byways of West Palm Beach to the conglomerate settings of Pahokee, Florida, where the sugar cane fields are burning in preparation for the harvest.  In those fiery fields all the characters finally come together in dramatic confrontation to forge a resolution of their conflicts and passions.

About the Author

John V. Doyle he has been a life-long writer in one form or another. Yet he finished THE FIRES OF PAHOKEE, his second novel, in "retirement" in Williamsburg, VA. He studied journalism, marketing and advertising during and after World War II and began his career as an advertising agency copywriter. He created campaigns for a number of major national advertisers before advancing to a company management position. He retired to Stuart, Florida in 1980, where he wrote his first novel, THE SERPENT'S TOOTH. In 1998, to be closer to family, he and his wife moved from Florida to Williamsburg, VA. And there he continues to pursue his passion for writing, with ideas for a third novel now percolating