Barrier Island

Barrier Island by John D. MacDonald. mass_market edition. ISBN: 9780449131794.

There are two kinds of men in Mississippi. They make natural enemies. And sometimes, but only if the balance between strength and weakness tips too far, unnatural allies. Tucker Loomis is a hard and dangerous man with a ruthlessness all West Bay fears and respects, and an improbable amount of money. Wade Rowley is a common man who aspires to honor but gets caught up in the footwork of a skilled swindler. In a pitiless game, with a few harsh rules and just one way of keeping score, the wrong man will die. And another will get away with more than murder. "Lively, gritty . . . complex and convincing . . . Mr. MacDonald writes with passion!" -- The New York Times Book Review