A Body Surrounded by Water: An Inspector Charlie Salter Mystery

This tidy, compact mystery set on Prince Edward Island is propelled by the shrewd observations of vacationing Toronto police inspector Charlie Salter. Salter, his feisty wife Annie and his 16-year-old son Angus (a boy of unbridled imagination) are staying at the summer home of Annie's parents, the Montagues, people of considerable wealth and political influence. When the bludgeoned body of local historian Clive Elton is discovered in his modest home, the island police, accustomed to a virtually crime-free environment, are only too happy to utilize Salter's expertise. Salter's father-in-law informs him that Elton had been about to sell him (for $20,000) the Great Silver Seal of the Island, an item of great historical interest, reputedly stolen during the American war of independence and now mysteriously in Elton's possession. A thorough search of Elton's home turns up no trace of the seal. When the body of Jim Brady, local handyman, womanizer, burgler and chief suspect, turns up at sea, the case becomes more complex. Salter is a warm and devoted family man, a shrewd observer of the human scene and a relentless investigator. A robust cast of Island personalities peoples this brief story, which at times becomes clouded with puzzling motivations. (December)