Fisherman's Bend

May 5, 2008
A large aquaculture corporation hires Jane Bunker, “newly deputized marine insurance investigator” of Green Haven, Maine, to document some vandalism aboard the research vessel Quest
in bestseller Greenlaw’s entertaining second mystery (after 2007’s Slipknot
). Strong sentiment against the company’s proposed oyster farm from area fishermen and Native Americans, who have a longstanding dispute over fishing rights, hints at possible culprits. After leaving the Quest
, Jane discovers an abandoned lobster boat, which leads to a body with a bait iron stuck in its chest that turns a missing person’s case into a homicide. Chasing leads up and down the rugged Maine coast, Jane is dogged by a series of sinister mishaps that nearly get her killed. With action that works best when it’s on the water and an appealing protagonist with room to grow, this cozy should win new fans for the author of The Hungry Ocean
and The Lobster Chronicles
, her nonfiction accounts of the sea-centered life.

June 30, 2008
Sandra Burr offers a cool, understated reading of Greenlaw's second nautical mystery (following 2007's Slipknot), which finds 42-year-old marine insurance investigator and deputy sheriff Jane Bunker investigating some vandalism aboard a research vessel that leads to a missing person case, a fatal drug overdose and an attempted murder. Burr's dialects are sure: whether she's playing a Maine fisherman or a Native American oysterman, she sounds like the real thing. Burr also creates a sympathetic portrait of the very vulnerable Bunker, holding listeners' attention during Greenlaw's slow buildup. A Hyperion hardcover (Reviews, May 5).

July 15, 2008
In her second outing (after "Slip Knot"), ex-Miami detective-turned-Maine insurance investigator Jane Bunker checks out the vandalized equipment of a company insured by her employer. This leads her to an abandoned boat and a corpse. Jane's culture shock and career adjustment are brilliantly portrayed.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2008
Formerly a Florida police detective, Jane Bunker is now an insurance investigator who has picked up a second job as the assistant deputy of Knox County, Maine. On the way back from Cobble Harbor, where she was investigating a claim for a vandalized boat, Jane comes across a circling lobster boat that is missing its crew. The captain, Parker Alley, is presumed dead, but Jane investigates the case along with the death by heroin overdose of Parkers son. Parker had numerous enemies, and complicating matters, the lobstermen in the area are upset about a possible aquaculture venture that would grow oysters in the bay. Jane ties up all the loose ends while she works to become a part of her new community. Small-town life, the difficult job of harvesting lobsters, and the beauty of the Maine coast are well delineated as Greenlaw immerses the reader in boating practice and lore. The tenacious Jane is a fully fleshed protagonist, and the secondary characters are also well developed in this satisfying mystery, the second in a series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)