The Light Keeper's Legacy

August 27, 2012
Ernstâs leisurely third Chloe Ellefson mystery set in 1982 Wisconsin (after 2011âs The Heirloom Murders) takes museum curator Chloe to Lake Michiganâs Rock Island, a state park, to do research on restoring the islandâs lighthouse. This excursion also gives her time to think about her relationship with her policeman boyfriend, Roelke McKenna, who gave her Sue Graftonâs A Is for Alibi before she left Eagle, Wis. Soon enough Chloe is involved in a mystery of her own after she stumbles on a dead body wrapped in fishnet on the islandâs beach. An account of a 19th-century Danish settler, net maker Ragna Anderson, alternates with Chloeâs adventures, providing a rich, if confusing, historical background. The discovery of a second body (also wrapped in fishnet), narrow escapes from the lighthouse, and a kayak battle add to the suspense. Natural descriptions abound, though often at the expense of pace. Agent: Andrea Cascardi, Transatlantic Literary.