The Avalon Chanter

November 18, 2013
Could tiny Farnaby Island off the Northumberland coast be the Avalon of Arthurian legend? Archeologist Maggie Lauder tries to prove it is, in Carl’s suspenseful, atmospheric sixth mystery featuring historian and journalist Jean Fairbairn and her husband, retired police detective Alasdair Cameron (after 2010’s The Blue Hackle). Jean and Alasdair are headed for the island, where Maggie recently canceled an event to celebrate the opening of a medieval tomb in the chantry chapel of ruined Farnaby Priory. Maggie was hoping to discover evidence of her Avalon theory in the tomb, but instead she found, as she later shows Jean and Alasdair, the skeletal remains of a mid- to late-20th-century man, who could be her father. A storm strands the couple on Farnaby, where they meet a host of distinctive locals, one of whom may be a murderer prepared to strike again. Cozy fans with an interest in British history will be satisfied.