Island
Blues
A Sabrina
Dunsweeney Mystery
Wendy Howell Mills
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-396-5 (1590583965)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-396-8 (9781590583968)
Publication Date: April 2007
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Sabrina Dunsweeney desperately needs a job. After
moving to isolated Comico Island with her parakeet Calvin to start a
new chapter of her life, Sabrina is discovering that life in a
beautiful, tropical environment isn’t all fun and games.
When the town council offers her employment as the island’s
first official ombudsman to cope with the burgeoning tourist influx,
Sabrina is thrilled. Her first order of business is to deal with a
number of burglaries. But as she digs deeper into the theftless
break-ins, she begins to suspect that this mystery originated in the
rum-soaked days of prohibition.
Then, Sabrina must face the “Hummers” who have
booked a week at one of the local hotels. The Hummers claim that they
can hear a hum that no one else can, and they believe they can only rid
themselves of the annoying, persistent noise by following very private
rituals.
When the spokesman of the Hummers is murdered, Sabrina develops a
theory that makes her the target of a killer’s rage. Will
survive her first week on the job?
Review:
Island Blues is the second mystery in this series by
Wendy Howell Mills that features former Cincinnati native Sabrina
Dunsweeney. The series is set on fictional Comico Island, situated
(presumably) somewhere in the Caribbean though its actual location is not important to the story.
Idyllic Comico Island is experiencing both the joy and pain of
increased tourist trade. To
investigate and attempt to resolve local complaints and problems, Sabrina is hired as the island's ombudsman. First
up: a number of burglaries that are unique in that nothing is missing
have the authorities puzzled. Could these break-ins have anything to do with an
organization representing "Hummers", people who hear a persistent noise
likened to a diesel motor idling, who have booked a local hotel for the
week? When Sabrina asks what the hum is, the spokesman for the
organization replies matter-of-factly, "the voice of the universe".
That same spokesman is later found murdered on a nearby isolated island
offering Sabrina an opportunity to use her amateur sleuthing skills.
Though the story tends to meander in places and the back stories are at
times unnecessarily confusing, Mills does a fine job keeping the
reader's interest while Sabrina goes
about gathering information that will help her solve both the puzzle of
the burglaries and the mystery of the murder.
The cast of characters,
while decidedly odd and just a little bit exaggerated, is for the most
part sympathetic and endearing. And the book concludes in an
unexpected, thought-provoking way. It's a
nice touch.
Island Blues likely won't appeal to all traditional mystery fans, but it is a pleasant way to escape the real world for a while.
Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of Island Blues for
this
review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery
Books — All
Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Island Intrigue
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), 2006
ISBN-10: 1-59058-217-9 (1590582179)
Island Blues
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), 2007
ISBN-10: 1-59058-396-5 (1590583965)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-396-8 (9781590583968)
Omnimystery keywords for Island Blues ...
Location(s) referenced: Cincinnati, Caribbean Islands.
