Murder, old and new, lead Tanner and Mary Whitney on a dangerous quest on and under the cold mysterious waters of Lake Superior.
Vacationing on Lake Superior in the ApostleIslands, Mary Whitney discovers a brass inspection plate from a marine engine. The plate lay wedged in a rock crevice beneath the surface of the water. After turning the artifact over to the federal park service, she becomes intrigued with the fate of the lake steamer from which the artifact came, and a mysterious cargo that may have been aboard the lost freighter. A misplaced letter found in the archives of the Minnesota Historical Society, leads one man to a family confrontation. The interaction of these two inquiries results in murder and exposes political corruption in the hushed halls of corporate America and in the brawling streets of Chicago at the dawn of the Twentieth Century.
Excerpt
Most of the boxes trucked into the records center, Ethel knew, contained ordinary business records, sometimes in the most appalling condition. She had found mice, alive and dead, and feathers and dirt, always dirt. Today she had discovered something else, something that should not have been included among the business records of … she glanced again at the box label to be sure. It read deVole Corporation, Chicago, Illinois--1890-1910.
The three heavy pieces of stationery appeared to be a personal letter from a “Tony.” Was that Anthony deVole? It was written to someone called “Wally” who lived at that time in Duluth. Who, she wondered, was “Wally?” The answer was of more than passing interest. The letter indicated that something illegal had been planned between those two around the beginning of the twentieth century. Had the plan been carried out? Was it still a secret? Tommy might know.
To find out, Ethel decided to commit a crime.
Professional Reviews
I Love A Mystery newsletter
“This is a book that had one of the must unusual plots I've ever encountered, with lots of twists and turns to keep it interesting and to keep me reading happily along. The bad guys are frighteningly efficient and suitably callous. The book is extremely well written with excellent descriptions, and obvious first hand knowledge of sailing, while the characters are beautifully portrayed. RECOMMENDED.”
Eden Embler
Book eight in my Belinda Lawrence Classic Mysteries. Mysteries confront amateur sleuths, Belinda Lawrence and Hazel Whitby in the Somerset village of Milford.
Among the eccentrics is the shadowy Madam Malefic.
