Family Album

By Susan Oleksiw

Book Overview

Beautiful Mellingham--it appears to be a safe haven on the New England coast where men, women, and children, old and young, can live in peace and harmony. But looks can deceive, as Chief of Police Joe Silva has discovered all too often in his long investigative career. When murder occurs at the Arbella House, the headquarters of the local historical society, Silva is probably the only one in town who is not surprised. He knows all too well that crime, even murder, can take place in the most genteel environment. He's worried, though, about at least one of the suspects, Gwen McDuffy, who volunteers at the Arbella House. A single mother with two young children, Gwen seems to have a secret that is too heavy to bear. But is the secret related to the murder, or is it something more personally threatening to Gwen and her young family? Silva wants to know, for reasons that are not entirely professional. There are others connected to the Arbella Society who are even more upset than Gwen when George Frome, the only member who pushed to bring the Society into the twentieth century, is found murdered in the Arbella attic. Catherine Rocklynd, the oldest and wealthiest member, seems to be crustier and more resentful than ever after the murder. Her nephew, Edwin Bennett, is hardly himself these days, but insists it's because he's worried about his aunt's health. Society board member Kelly Kuhn, an art dealer and collector, worries about his escalating debt and becomes even more obsessed than before with building up his private art collection. And Annalee Windolow, one of Kelly's customers as well as a generous donor to the Society, develops her own compulsive habits and knows just how to exploit Kelly's weaknesses. They all claim to know nothing about the murder. George Frome had suspected theft at the Arbella House. Now George is dead, and Silva is left to sift through the lives of these always unpredictable suspects in his search for a killer. The only obvious clue is a collection of five paintings hidden away by an unknown hand. Rich in character, setting, and finely crafted plot, Family Album asks meaningful questions about family and place and the need to belong. It is the best yet in a critically acclaimed series.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0991208242
• ISBN13: 9780991208241
• Release Date: November 2014
• Publisher: Hale Street Press
• Length: 214 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Another absorbing small town police procedural from Oleksiw

I won't waste space describing the plot of this book as it's been ably done by earlier reviewers. It's the kind of writing and story that kept me reading far into the night, long after I should have been asleep. The writing is fine, the characters are fascinating and so well defined that you can understand them even if you've never personally known anyone like them. As with all of Susan Oleksiw's work that I've read, I highly recommend it.

Believable eccentrics and an intricate plot

Oleksiw's thoroughly enjoyable cozy, set in the New England seaport village of Mellingham, centers around the Arbella Historical Society and its members, a cast of eccentric but believable characters. When one of them is murdered with an arcane horticultural poison, Chief of Police Joe Silva quickly discerns that each has a secret.George Frome, the murdered man, was a spartan master of efficiency who suspected a thief among the members. Or did he? The day of the monthly board meeting Frome called Silva to Arbella House to inspect security. But Silva couldn't shake the feeling Frome was putting on a show for some hidden purpose of his own. Frome's suspicions cause fireworks at the board meeting and the next day Frome is found dead in the attic, sprawled before a group of 19th-century paintings which don't belong there.Suspects include a society matriarch who was about to sell an important family heirloom to Frome; her heir and nephew whose devotion to his garden is exceeded only by his devotion to his aunt; an obnoxious social climber with a new interest in 19th-paintings; an antiques dealer on the verge of financial ruin, and a single mother whose fear of the past leads to panic attacks and strange acts of household cleaning.Oleksiw moves easily among the minds of these characters, heightening the reader's curiosity with glimpses of their private terrors. Silva, the Portuguese outsider, learns to distinguish between real secrets and "village secrets," which everyone but him is privy to, while showing a sharp eye for small betraying gestures and guarding against his attraction to Gwen McDuffy, the wary single mother.Silva, late forties and unmarried, is haunted by melancholy for the family he might never have. Oleksiw leaves the door wide open for future romance. This, together with the author's flair for character, plot intricacies, red herrings and the delightful setting, will leave readers happily anticipating the next Mellingham mystery.