STORM OF SECRETS

The morning after a storm on Cape Cod, there’s a missing child, a murdered man, and a myth in the background that may connect them.

Instead of spending her wedding weekend getting dolled up and married to Daniel Benjamin, Cassandra Mitchell is playing hostess to the other folks in Whale Rock, all because of Tropical Storm Chantal. As one of the biggest storms the town has seen in years bears down, it cancels Cassie and Daniel’s plans and leaves residents and tourists alike huddled together trying to wait out the weather. Not everyone appears to make it safely to the other side, as Cassie discovers when she finds the body of Lee Chambers stuffed into a dumpster, not a victim of nature but of human nature. Although Cassie’s history of informally aiding in crime-solving (House of Ashes, 2018) makes her keenly interested in nosing around in Lee’s death, she has more important mysteries on her mind. One of the Kleister family’s children disappeared in the storm’s mayhem, and everyone in town is looking for the boy, especially Daniel, who can draw on his skills as a former FBI agent. The missing child reminds Cassie of the anonymous grave of a child on her family property: The so-called Barnacle Boy was found at sea years before and buried without any idea who he was or who lost him. Cassie can’t help wondering whether her ancestors Percy and Celeste are sending her signs about the boy’s connection to the boy who went missing this weekend.

Modern and historic mysteries collide in Marion’s bittersweet storytelling.