Synopsis
Distraught over her partner’s betrayal, poet Maria Pell (no stranger to paranormal phenomena) flees to a writers’ retreat in a small North Carolina coastal town—a place where racial tensions seethe and river mists and blind reverence for old traditions hide secrets of the living and the dead.
Maria plunges straight into these mysteries as she searches for the woman who inspired verses written by a deceased local poet. At the same time her writer friend and fellow retreat instructor, Bo Bennett’s research into a local family uncovers that someone is the killing descendants of a seventeenth century slave-owner. Could the murders be retribution for past sins or are they cover for more recent, sinister motives? The poems and Bo’s discoveries combine to solve old mysteries and forever change the way people regard themselves in this barrier island community.
Review
In this thriller, a poet at a writers' retreat digs into thepast of a troubled North Carolina town, the site of a current string ofmurders.
Maria Pell happily accepts an offer to teach at the DaffodilWriters Retreat, lured by the company of fellow poets. The retreat is also nearthe childhood home of Amen Hotep Jones, Maria's star pupil (now dead) when shetaught poetry to inmates and whose verse she strives to understand. CherapeeCounty, Maria quickly discovers, is rife with racial uneasiness, a transparentmutual animosity between white and black townspeople. At the same time, her colleagueBo Bennett is writing a book on the history of the Creighton family, startingwith Peter Creighton's migration to the area in the 17th century. The killingof two Creighton descendants within the last year is problematic enough, butsuspicions are bolstered by a possible murder (another Creighton) at theretreat. Breaking down Amen's poetry ultimately leads Maria to dredge up thetown's past; this incites locals but may tie into the murders, whichunfortunately continue. With help from her intermittent psychic visions anddreams, Maria searches for a killer, who soon comes looking for her. In Handy's(The Untold Story of Edwina, 2016, etc.) sequel, Maria remains a curiousprotagonist, shaken by her husband's recent infidelity and likely falling for CherapeeCounty local Ian Kincaid. Her psychic ability, meanwhile, is understated;spirits guide her, but Maria works her way toward a solution primarily withgumption and intuition. The author further exercises subtlety in dealing withrace, from different forms of prejudice (overt slurs or micro-aggressions) tolinks to the town's plot-relevant history. There are, however, effectivethriller attributes, like the car tailgating Maria's Mazda rental and clearlyrefusing to pass. Handy's writing is concise and fittingly lyrical, packing apunch with few words: "Amen grew up in a world that caged his power" and "Wordscould set the world on fire."
A witty sleuth as keen and profound as the art form sheteaches.
Kirkus Reviews
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