Debut
I flat out loved this book, the very worthy winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel award. Set in coastal Maine on Little North Island, the story opens with organist and grad student Willow Stone returning to Little North for the funeral of her godmother, Sue. Due to a family quarrel, they hadn’t seen each other in many years, though Willow always loved Sue and could never understand why her family stopped seeing her. She finally receives a letter inviting her back to the island for Sue’s wedding, but unfortunately, by the time Willow receives it she finds herself attending her funeral instead.
At the time of her death, Sue had been living in the allegedly haunted Cameron house. It had been an unexpected legacy after the death of the previous owner and she’d been fixing the old place up slowly but surely. Willow meets Sue’s fiancée, Rina, before the funeral at the cottage that used to be Sue’s home, where Willow spent many summers, now operating as an Airbnb. Rina seems bristling with resentment and hostility as she hands over the keys, and it’s only with great reluctance that Willow attends the after funeral reception at Rina’s pottery shop.
Willow is quickly buttonholed by the island blowhard, but it’s the local curmudgeon, the last living Cameron, who begs her to accompany him up to the old family home which he’s inherited. Unfortunately, he passes out when they arrive and Willow leaves to call an ambulance, but not before meeting one of the resident ghosts. Cameron House seems to be full of them, but it takes a minute for Willow to realize that, although supernatural, they are not a product of her imagination.
While this sounds like a YA novel, the emotions and connections could not be more adult, and, as in real life, one quarrel or resentment may be tamped down only for another to flare up, making this novel into a masterclass on human miscommunication and misunderstanding. Luckily, even in the middle of it, Willow is not alone, and when she gets back to the cottage after taking the curmudgeon to the hospital, she finds the cottage full of pasta, wine, women and, best of all, a friendly corgi. The other women urge Rina and Willow to clear the air (they do) and when Rina is later arrested, they form a loose sleuthing alliance, headed by Willow and the town librarian to clear her name.
Between them, they begin to untangle the ties connecting Sue to the Cameron House and family, with the ghosts providing help to the investigation by offering advice and guidance to Willow at crucial moments. I usually dislike any actual supernatural element in mysteries, but the great Barbara Michaels could pull it off, and so, it turns out, can newbie author Jennifer Breedlove, displaying a deft and careful hand with the spirits who are a necessary part of the plot.
This book is old fashioned in the best possible way, a classic coming of age/young woman finding her way into a community story, and the ghosts in the story have a classic, Victorian feel to them that I really enjoyed. The community Willow discovers and comes to rely on is also a pretty common cozy element, but here it seems just right and quite believable that Willow is able to bond with like minded women in a now unfamiliar place where she once spent her summers as a child.
The solution is tricky, well laid out, and emotional, the final pages of the book moving me to tears. The setting is well done and not heavy handed, though the vivid Maine island atmosphere certainly enhances the tale at different parts. Murder Will Out has plenty of the ingredients of a great read, including a fascinating central character, humor, pathos and even a good scare or two. Who could ask for anything more? I could! This excellent installment merely whetted my appetite for more of Willow’s adventures. — Robin Agnew