THE BODY IN BLACKWATER BAY

by Paula Gosling ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1992

Daria Grey--who complained long and loud to everyone on tiny Paradise Island (ten families, most of them property owners for years) that her estranged husband was threatening her--is the number one suspect when he lies, dead, on her own front lawn. Nudged to action by his girlfriend Kate, Detective Lieutenant Jack Stryker agrees to help her childhood chum Daria--and with some steady backup from island sheriff Matt Gabriel and some humorous asides from his partner Tos (like Stryker, convalescing from wounds), he tackles the case, interviews the islanders, attends a town meeting, barely escapes from guard dogs, and eventually uncovers all the secrets of the community--including which family is smuggling wealthy Asians into the country, which islanders are in cahoots to sell their property to outsiders, and who killed more than once to protect a get-rich scheme. Easygoing study of an insular vacation enclave, with touches of romance and comedy. Nothing particularly new here, but Gosling's (Death Penalties, 1991, etc.) Blackwater Bay has charm, as do her characters.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1992

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Mysterious Press--dist. by Warner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992

Categories: FICTION