North of Boston

Starred review from November 4, 2013
Elo’s outstanding debut stars an intelligent, confident woman of Russian descent, Pirio Kasparov, who survives for nearly four hours in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic before being rescued. Pirio was helping lobsterman Ned Rizzo bait traps when his boat was rammed in the fog by a freighter about 25 miles northeast of Boston Harbor. Ned, the husband of a close friend Pirio met at boarding school in Maine, is presumed drowned. Now dubbed “the swimmer” by the press, Pirio begins to believe that the collision at sea was deliberate. She teams with investigative reporter Russell Parnell, following a trail from Boston to Canada’s Baffin Bay. Pirio grew up in the shadow of her late mother, a beautiful model who died when she was 10, and inherited the cynicism of her father, who considered her a problem child. Pirio’s ability to maneuver in various strata of Boston society, learned from her parents who both rose from humble origins, comes in handy in her quest for answers. The brisk plot smoothly incorporates such far-flung subjects as environmental issues, the fishing industry, and the perfume business. Agent: Esmond Harmsworth, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary & Entertainment Agency.

December 1, 2013
Perfume heiress turns unwilling sleuth in Elo's suspense series launch. Pirio Kasparov is learning scent sense from her irascible father, who still runs the Boston-based perfume empire founded by Pirio's late mother after the family emigrated from Russia. Although she expects to inherit the business one day, a hefty allowance and flexible work schedule allow her plenty of time for extracurricular activities, including going on a lobstering trip with her friend Ned Rizzo aboard his new boat, the Molly Jones. Their outing proves disastrous when, although they are nowhere near a shipping lane, the giant hull of a freighter cleaves the smaller craft in two, killing Ned and leaving Pirio drifting on a board in the freezing Atlantic. She is rescued, and the fact that she survived in cold water much longer than average, without succumbing to hypothermia, has elicited the interest of the U.S. Navy, which wants to study her. But she has little time to be a guinea pig for her country: She has her hands full with Ned's son, Noah, and Noah's unreliable, alcoholic mother, Thomasina, Ned's ex-girlfriend. Clues unearthed during one of Thomasina's drunken escapades fan Pirio's vague suspicion into a full-blown conviction that Ned's death was no accident. Apparently, Ned purchased the Molly Jones for $1 from his former employer, a mega-fishing concern called Ocean Catch. A chance encounter with an Ocean Catch insider leads to another startling revelation: Before suddenly leaving (or being fired?), Ned had crewed on the giant fishing trawler Sea Wolf. That boat's crew was receiving periodic, off-the-books cash bonuses despite hauling in a minimal amount of legal catch. Was the Sea Wolf hauling contraband? Had Ocean Catch, or someone else, tried to buy Ned's silence with the gift of a lobster boat? Who stood to gain by his death? Elo's lively style and the vivid characters lend credence and heft to an original, if ungainly, conspiracy-thriller plot. The groundwork is well-laid for future Pirio Kasparov adventures.

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Starred review from December 15, 2013
Elo's first novel links the commercial fishing industry, the perfume industry, and conservation in a hunt for justice. Perfume executive Pirio Kasparov earns the name The Swimmer after surviving four impossible hours in freezing water after a bizarre hit-and-run incident in the ocean demolishes the fishing boat she was on, but her superhero status is no consolation when she informs Noah, her friend's young son, that his father didn't survive. Pirio is Noah's sole source of stability. His father is dead, and his mother, Pirio's best friend, is a struggling alcoholic. The coast guard's investigation is perfunctory, at best, and Pirio becomes determined to give Noah answers by finding the outlaw ship. Her search revolves around Boston's port, where she reconnects with fishermen from her past. Stonewalled at each turn by the former friends turned tight-lipped thugs, Pirio partners with a journalist on the same track, and they match wits against the killers determined to hide the devastating voyage's secrets. Pirio Kasparov is an alluring heroine. She's sharp-witted, hell-bent on finding the truth, and her narrative voice is laced with surly sexiness. Pirio's baldly honest, slightly melancholic reflections and Elo's use of extreme natural settings will have strong appeal for Scandinavian crime fans. An impressive debut with surprising literary depth.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)