The Crimson Rose

“THE CRIMSON ROSE” is the most recent Douglas V Dollard mystery featuring Michael Riley.


In an era of flappers, gunsels, dames and rumrunners Bobby Maguire was southern Florida’s most notorious bootlegger.  Young, handsome and daring to the point of recklessness Bobby made millions sneaking his liquor laden quick boats past a gauntlet of armed and vigilant patrol boats of the United State’s Coast Guard.

In the roaring twenties Florida, fueled by a land boom was the fastest growing state in the nation and Maguire was determined to feed its thirst for booze, dames and high times.


Drawn by Maguire’s flamboyance and dashing good looks women adored him.  But Bobby’s passion had been ignited by the enigmatic and alluring jazz singer billed as the Crimson Rose.  Their torrid affair would become south Florida’s greatest love story.


But fame and success did not come without a price.  In the winter of 1925 at the pinnacle of his success Bobby Maguire disappeared and neither he nor the Crimson Rose were ever seen again.


Now Michael Riley must solve the mystery of the couple’s disappearance if he is to save their great granddaughter from a ruthless and sinister killer.  With time running out Riley risks his life to unravel the shocking secret that has captivated a nation and memorialized one of the most fascinating periods in American history.