A novel of melancholy set in RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
Crime mystery set in ST IVES, Cornwall
18th November 2024
A St Ives Christmas Mystery by Deborah Fowler, a crime mystery set in St Ives, Cornwall.
Merrin Mackenzie remained in Bristol after her university studies, living with her husband and child. She felt well settled but a tragic event sees her relocating to St Ives, where she grew up. There is no longer any family there, her brother is in Australia, but she feels drawn to change her life.
She has been a practising solicitor but as her new life begins, she will be cleaning holiday lets for her old friend, which suits her just fine. Another old friend sets her up with accommodation, somewhere where her pet parrot, Horatio, can live reasonably happily. She is all set to get on with this new chapter of her life.
On virtually her first cleaning assignment, Merrin (which incidentally means sea pearl in Cornish) discovers a body, that of a young man, tucked up in one of the bedrooms. It is, as she suspects, a murder scene – an extraordinary occurrence, as crime in St Ives is negligible. Merrin finds herself increasingly involved in the ensuing investigation and then another death occurs….. Clearly there is something very dark going on.
Location plays a prominent backdrop in this novel – the Sloop (pub), which dates back to the 1300s, gets a good mention, Fore Street (there is, in fact, a wealth of odd street name in St Ives) and of course the sea is everywhere “The sea flowing into the harbour, on a sunny day, was an extraordinary colour combination of deep blues and greens, translucent and sparkling – quite unlike anywhere else”.
This is a nicely paced whodunnit that is firmly and recognisably set in this beautiful part of the world.
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Adding to my TBR list, as I love books set in Cornwall.