Humid and hot, hot, hot.  Those of us who live on the eastern coast of Maine, be it near the water, on the water, river or lake, consider ourselves lucky.  What about living on an island?  Well that's stretching it a bit.  Did you know that Maine has 4,600 islands along its coast? Islands habitable or uninhabitable always seem to be so mysterious.  There are some well known authors who have taken advantage of an island's setting and written some great mysteries.

Paul Doiron for example wrote “Stay Hidden” (2018).  He describes Maquiot Island as the foggiest place on the Eastern Seaboard.  Welcome to Maine's Murder Island.  A woman is shot by a hunter, or is she?  When the deceased woman appears alive and well the question is: who is the murderd victim?

“Secrets Haunt the Lobster's Sea” (2018) by Charlene  D'Avanzo is #3 in a series.  Oceanographer, Dr. Mara Tusconi is investigating the death of Lobsterman Buddy Crawford.  Using her sea kayak Mara visits the Lobsterman's home on Macomek Island where there is no formal rule of law.

For the cozy mystery lovers “Murder Most Maine” (2008) is #3 in the Cranberry Island series by Karen MacInervey.  A skeleton is found walled up in the island's lighthouse.

I just finished reading “Windigo Island” (2014) by William Kent Krueger.  The island is located in Lake Superior.  When the body of a teenage Ojibwe girl washes up on the island the residents of nearby Bad Bluff reservation whisper that it was the work of a mystical beast called Windigo. It is #14 in the Cork O'Connor series and it's Krueger at his best.

John Grisham's “Camino Island” (2017) is really Amelia Island, Fla.  In this story the original manuscripts of the F. Scott Fitzgerald's work have been stolen from Princeton University's Firestone Library.  The manuscripts along with some shady characters eventually wind up on Camino Island. In the town of Santa Rosa there are a few struggling authors, a successful book store that also deals in rare books and a spy!

Happy reading mystery lovers!

 

Upcoming Free Event:  Celebrate the Suffrage Movement's 100 year anniversary of success.  

Wednesday, Aug. 12, 6:30 p.m.  Join us on Zoom for a live-stream performance of:  I Now Pronounce You Lucy Stone™.  Stone’s message inspired thousands of women to join the suffrage movement.  Learn More at https://bbhlibrary.org/8-12-livestream-i-now-pronounce-you-lucy-stone/.