A DEEPER DIVE

In Madar’s mystery-series opener, a widowed podcaster becomes the key to solving a cold missing person case in her hometown.

Left adrift by the death of her artist husband, retired librarian Merrill Connor is convinced by her friends and her son, Jason, to start a podcast, which is a smash hit in her community. When she accompanies a friend to the nearby spiritualist community of Lily Dale in southwest New York state, she has an unexpected vision during her session with a medium, which leads her to solve the disappearance of a missing Amish girl. Word travels fast, and Merrill’s newfound celebrity connects her with Joanna Phillips, who asks her to solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance 20 years earlier. Grace Phillips was a young housewife who angered her wealthy contractor husband by going to college and taking a teacher’s assistant position at Joanna’s high school. Soon after, Grace was rumored to be having an affair with star high school football player Brad Childs, which enraged Joanna. One day, Grace popped into the Mill Springs Mall on a quick errand and was never seen again. When Merrill speaks about the case on her podcast, her listeners come forward with tips that weren’t part of the original police investigation. But as Merrill’s digging brings her closer to the truth, it also brings her closer to danger from people who’d rather that Grace was never found. Madar offers a skillfully plotted and well-paced mystery story in these pages, though some may find the resolution to be a bit predictable. Still, the ongoing journey of Merrill’s research, which includes two more trips to Lily Dale, leads to a satisfying destination, as the tale is ultimately about a woman’s self-reinvention. Merrill’s courage to reinvent herself and pursue a new passion in the latter half of her life is endearing, and it makes her a compelling protagonist for a prospective series. Her ability to engage and empathize with witnesses not only makes her a good detective, but also brings some heart to the story.

A thoughtful, suspenseful whodunit with a dash of mysticism.