Death at Whitewater Church: An Inishowen Mystery

Solicitor Benedicta “Ben” O’Keeffe, the intelligent, determined heroine of Irish author Carter’s atmospheric first novel and series launch, runs the “most northerly solicitor’s office in Ireland” on the Inishowen Peninsula. “Last legal advice before Iceland,” she thinks she should put on her notepaper. A routine job takes her to inspect a deconsecrated church, where, in the crypt, she and the surveyor accompanying her spot a human skeleton. When word gets out of this grisly find, many believe that the remains belong to a local man who disappeared on his wedding day six years earlier. Sgt. Tom Molloy, a friend of Ben’s, investigates. That a barred gate locked the victim in suggests foul play. A chance encounter with the pathologist who conducts the postmortem triggers painful memories of a personal loss that Ben suffered eight years before. A potential romance with Tom provides further complications. The complex, slow-moving plot can be challenging to follow at times, but readers will feel the effort is well worth it. [em]Agent: Kerry Glencorse, Susanna Lea Assoc. (Sept.) [/em]