Shadows of a Down East Summer
A Maggie Summer "Antique Print" Mystery by Lea Wait
Review: Antique print dealer Maggie Summer wants nothing more than to spend a romantic vacation with her beau Will Brewer, but her plans are side-tracked when she's asked to authenticate an century-old journal that contains potentially scandalous information involving the famous artist Winslow Homer, in Shadows of a Down East Summer, the fifth mystery in this series by Lea Wait.
Carolyn Chase is the daughter of artist Helen Chase, a family that has deep roots in Waymouth, Maine. Carolyn has come into possession of an old box, hidden in the attic of her grandmother, that includes a journal written by her great-grandmother, Anna Mae Pratt. Anna was once a model for renowned painter, and Maine resident, Winslow Homer. The journal outlines numerous secrets involving the residents of Waymouth … and of Homer himself. But soon after Maggie is introduced to Carolyn, she is murdered. Maggie takes possession of the journal, and strives to determine what may have been written over 100 years ago that would compel someone to kill today to keep it from being revealed.
The mystery plot of Shadows of a Down East Summer is convincing and well thought out, made all the more interesting by the engaging Maggie Summer as amateur sleuth and the descriptions of the local art scene in Maine. That this whodunit includes a credible cast of suspects helps as well. The historical backstory provides a fascinating and colorful context to current events, and there's enough of an edge to Maggie's investigation that keeps this cozy from being, well, too cozy.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Shadows of a Down East Summer.
Review Copyright © 2011 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Location(s) referenced in Shadows of a Down East Summer: Maine
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Shadows of a Down East Summer by Lea Wait
Publisher: Perseverance Press
Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN-10: 1-56474-497-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-56474-497-5
Publication Date: April 2011
List Price: $14.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): In the summer of 1890, two young women posed for artist Winslow Homer on the coast of Maine. What happened that summer, the secrets the women kept, and the lies they told, changed their families forever.
Now, more than a hundred years later, one of their descendants has been murdered, leaving to antique print dealer Maggie Summer the family papers that may finally reveal the truth. Maggie's vision of a relaxing vacation in Maine — antiquing with beau Will Brewer and visiting his Aunt Nettie — turns into a murder investigation. Maggie must discover which of the family myths are based on reality, before someone she cares about becomes the next victim.