Treacherous Strand

July 15, 2019
At the start of Carter’s melodramatic sequel to 2015’s Death at Whitewater Church, solicitor Benedicta “Ben” O’Keefe, who has settled recently in the town of Glendara on Ireland’s Inishowen Peninsula, visits a crime scene. The day before, Marguerite Etienne, Ben’s yoga teacher, came to the solicitor’s office asking Ben to prepare her will. Ben recognized that the woman was nervous, but nevertheless put her off until the next day. Now Marguerite’s body has washed ashore in a nearby town. The local police say the death is a suicide, a verdict that Ben refuses to believe. Racked by guilt, she decides to investigate. This takes the form of gossiping with all and sundry and putting herself in danger a time or two. International cults, incest, adultery, blackmail, bullying, overbearing land developers, and Ben’s tenuous love life are but a few of the elements that figure in the jumbled plot. Despite the occasional gore and an overabundance of certifiably deranged suspects, this basically gentle mystery will appeal to cozy readers with a fondness for soap opera. Agent: Kerry Glencorse, Susanna Lea Assoc.

Starred review from April 1, 2019

When Frenchwoman Marguerite Etienne's body washes up on a remote beach on Ireland's Inishowen peninsula and the death is quickly ruled a suicide, local solicitor Benedicta "Ben" O'Keeffe is convinced otherwise. She had recently drawn up Marguerite's will and should perhaps have done more for the recent transplant to the small town of Glendara. Ignoring police warnings, she forges ahead, uncovering the woman's past in a doomsday cult, a child she left behind, and her fraught relationships with men. Putting herself at risk, Ben can't let go of this lonely and disturbed woman whom she feels she's failed. Of course, in the process she unearths local secrets, threatening her own position--both personally and professionally--in the tiny community. VERDICT This second in Carter's Inishowen series (after Death in Whitewater Church) is hugely entertaining and satisfying, full of Irish legal tidbits and solidly drawn characters in a deliciously remote and picturesque locale. Ben is an intelligent and feisty woman you'd want in your corner. Highly recommended.--Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA

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