The tangled lives in this small coastal town become every bit as important as solving the murder, and Casey teases out their interrelated happenings parallel to the hunt for the killer. That clever strategy helps build suspense along with plenty of character-driven dramatics, as when neighboring couples engage in an affair but meet their demise in a tragic accident the very day they decide to leave their spouses—driving their abandoned partners together in an ironic twist of fate. In a nod to the philosophical, characters hold lengthy discussions on life’s nuances, prompting an unexpected villain to muse “there are no men of faith on deathbeds, only men who die in hope of perhaps” when facing the consequences of his sins.

Each of Casey’s characters are granted satisfying resolutions, many with surprising relevance to the main plot. Even the final confrontation between Mallory and the killer is more rhetorical in its explosiveness than the typical fight scenes that tend to close out mysteries, and Casey caps the novel with a neat bow on the theme of guilt and self-punishment. The languid pacing, bright details, and delightful indulgence in theology only add to this distinctively off-beat, quality mystery.

Takeaway: Off-beat murder mystery with rich, complex character interplay.

Comparable Titles: Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club, Catriona Ward’s The Last House on Needless Street.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing: A