Palm Pointe

About the Book

Albert Rogner dies in a fall from his condominium roof where he was flying a new kite. Retired after selling his business to the Japanese, kite flying was his hobby.  He, his wife, the Rosenbaums, and two other couples made up a double foursome for golf, cards, socializing and so on in Palm Pointe, a mostly retirement condominium community in the Gold Coast of south Florida.

Gerry Rogner, highly sexed, more than a generation younger than her third husband, sexually overcomes her friend and neighbor, Louis Rosenbaum, on the day of her husband’s death.  This leads to an affair that Louis is not sure he wants to get into, but Gerry keeps pushing him.

Rosenbaum, seeking sexual release, goes to the Panther Lounge, a semi-nudie hangout, looking to pick up a girl.  He thinks of the pleasure of young flesh. He gets a glimpse of a girl whose slender, soft figure attracts him, but he loses sight of her.  She, however, stays in his memory as not being the type ordinarily found in places such as the Panther.  He meets Rosemary, his dentist’s assistant, who moonlights as a semi-pro hooker.  He visits her several times before the dentist’s wife becomes suspicious, and Rosemary calls off their liaison.

Hatchmarks were left on Rogner’s face that were thought to be those from a grate that held a plant up, near where he fell.  But the officer investigating finds out that they don’t match.

Gerry’s former sister-in-law by a previous marriage tells of the strange surrounding of her former husband’s death.

The girl whose glimpse he had caught on a previous visit to the Panther saves him from scam setup.  He and Maxine become friendly.  He gradually begins to fall in love with her although he had a granddaughter her age.

Sanford Sachs, one of the original double foursome, dies on the golf course.

Maxine visits his apartment to see how retirees live, and they eventually have intercourse.  She leaves a note saying that she might fall in love with him.

Gerry makes a decided play for Louis, having a local chef make dishes that she passes off as her own to show Louis how well he would live if he married her.

Louis brings Maxine openly to Palm Pointe, after a golf tournament, to show her how he lives.  Then he takes her to a local concert at a Jewish temple that only the older people show up at.  He takes her to an early bird dinner, a time when older people like to eat, also when prices are lower.  

He gives her a diamond solitaire.  He starts to buy her things.  She tells him of her childhood and of her early introduction to sex, and her being thrown out of her home.  Louis tells her of his conventional life.  She moves in with him, but not on a permanent basis.  Louis’ children are opposed.

Louis’ son-in-law discovers that his father’s tennis racquet and one of his golf clubs may have been the source of the marks on the dead man’s face.

Gerry Rogers determines to win Louis.  Remarks are made in the condo about Maxine who is too young to be in residence at Palm Pointe.

Blood stains on Louis’ tennis racquet and golf club may be those on the dead man.  His son-in-law hides the incriminating evidence

Gerry gets the golf pro to rape Maxine and incriminate her in Louis’ eyes.  Gerry seduces Louis again.  Then Louis get a note telling him to ask Maxine for a bauble he gave her.  When Maxine doesn’t show up, Louis searches her apartment and finds what he thinks is incriminating evidence of her faithlessness.

Apparently the tennis racquet and golf club that had blood stains, were not used by Louis.   Who then murdered Rogner?

Maxine turns up.  She was raped by the tennis pro, instigated by Gerry.  Louis breaks the pro’s knees with a golf club and tell

About the Author

Murray Levine has written seven novels, attended NYU, Harvard, and Rutgers. He was a clothing manufacturer, a buyer and management executive in several department stores, an independent retailer, an advertising executive, an English professor, and is now retired to a community in Florida and is president of the homeowners association