The phoenix nest - Hardcover

Hermes, Margaret

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0809259052 ISBN 13: 9780809259052

Publisher: Contemporary Books, 1981

Synopsis

The PHOENIX NEST is a mystery novel in which the unlikely sheriff of a cozy resort town in Maine struggles to balance his personal life and his professional duty. A murder threatens to tilt the balance, and the more Trout discovers, the less he knows.
Brilliant and narcissistic, Nathan was the second son of one of the East Coast's first families. A year past, he embezzled from the family business and disappeared. Then he disappeared again . . . and again.
Elegant and enigmatic, Eve arrived to throw a new light on the puzzle of the missing embezzler. She seemed frozen in another time, yet without a past of her own. Was she involved with Nathan? And just how involved was Trout becoming with Eve?
After the disappearance of his brother Nathan, Gerald assumed new responsibilities -- and a new personality.
As he searches for the murderer, Trout encounters bizarre turns, twisted personalities, and ambivalence within himself.

About this title

About the Author

Margaret Hermes's collection of short fiction, Relative Strangers, was published by Carolina Wren Press in 2012.  The manuscript was chosen by Jill McCorkle as winner of the Doris Bakwin Book Award. McCorkle stated, "Every single story is vivid and memorable, and yet, equally powerful is the collective thematic effect. So many of these characters are strangers within their own families and their own lives--people thought to be dead are resurrected and another's survival is akin to death. Change, loss, alienation; it's all here. But so is humor and compassion and a fresh spin on the way people deal with the most vulnerable aspects of life. Margaret Hermes is a wonderful writer and this is a moving and powerful collection." Relative Strangers received a special second place award in the 2012 Balcones Fiction Prize competition.
Her mystery novel, The Phoenix Nest, was published by Contemporary Books and translated into German.  She was commissioned by Metro Theatre Company to write book and lyrics for a stage adaptation of an Oscar Wilde fable, The Birthday of the Infanta, a musical tragedy for children.
Her short stories have appeared in numerous journals such as The Missouri Review, River Styx, The Literary Review, and the Laurel Review. Several stories have placed or been chosen as finalists in competitions or for publication in anthologies. Her story "Transubstantiation" was selected for the short fiction anthology 20 Over 40 (University Press of Mississippi) in which she found herself in the excellent company of such literary notables as Gish Jen, Frederick Barthelme, Antonya Nelson, and George Singleton.
Equal parts writer and environmental activist, she has also written about the dangers of radioactive wastes and worked on behalf of a better built environment as well as for clean streams, the preservation of parkland, and the protection of wilderness areas.

From the Inside Flap

The unlikely sheriff of a cozy resort town in Maine, Trout struggles to balance his personal life and his professional duty. A murder threatens to tilt the balance, and the more Trout discovers, the less he knows.
Nathan was brilliant and narcissistic, the second son of one of the East Coast's first families. A year ago he embezzled from the family business and disappeared. Then he disappeared again . . . and again.
Elegant and enigmatic, Eve arrived to throw new light on the puzzle of the missing embezzler. She seemed frozen in another, more mannered time, yet without a past of her own. Was she involved with Nathan? And just how involved was Trout becoming with Eve?
After the disappearance of his brother Nathan, Gerald assumed new responsibilities - and a new personality.
As secretary to Nathan's mother, Gretchen had become so infatuated with Nathan that her employer's physician feared for her stability, and the sheriff questioned her artlessness.
As he searches for the murderer, Trout encounters bizarre turns, twisted personalities - and ambivalence within himself.

Edition details

• Publisher: Contemporary Books
• Publication date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0809259052
• ISBN 13: 9780809259052
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 147