Murder and Mayhem At Sea and On Land

Kevin’s Corner


In this sequel to “The Repo” written by Author Bill Eidson, the team of ex-DEA Agent Jack Merchant and boat repo contractor Sarah Ballard embark on another twisting tale. Against the background of their budding intimate relationship, Eidson weaves a tail of deception and greed that will wreak havoc on the guilty and the innocent alike.

No one really believes Matt Coulter’s story and even Matt isn’t sure it actually happened the way he remembers things. While the news reports of their ship going down, demasted in a fierce storm and the loss of his family believed drowned at sea tell one chain of events, he tells another. Matt, who has suffered a severe head injury and resulting memory loss as well as other physical traumas, tells a tale of another boat arriving on scene and believes that his son and daughter were taken away on that boat while he and his wife were left to die in the storm tossed sea. His wife’s body was found a short time after he was rescued by Coast Guard Helicopter, but the kids were never found despite an extensive search. Matt is on a desperate search for help and for someone to believe his story.

Jack Merchant does and agrees to help with his first efforts aimed at trying to find the mystery boat based on a fragmentary description Matt remembers. His memory of a unique bow plate seems to be real and before long Merchant and Ballard are chasing leads and digging up secrets that others do not want found. The trail will lead to a violent confrontation at sea that will put their relationship to a horrendous test should they survive.

Continuing to build on the rich characters of Merchant and Ballard, Eidson has brought them to life once again in this engrossing story. Unfortunately, that can’t be said for the villains of the work. While all the motivations are not clear until the end of the novel, too often, the villains seem to be stereotypes. Edison does make a laudable effort to build depth to them and make them real, but they are all still weak from start to finish.

However, the weakness of the villains is a minor quibble considering the overall strength of the story. This is a fast paced complex read that provides, despite the character development issues noted above, and incredibly satisfying intense read all the way to the end. On all other levels, the book works and works incredibly well and is an excellent sequel to “the Repo.”

The Mayday
By Bill Eidson
www.billeidson.com
Kate’s Mystery Books
www.justincharlesbooks.com
2005
ISBN # 1-932112-33-2
Hardback
310 Pages
$24.95 US

More next time and as always feel free to drop me a note here or at Kevin_tipple@att.net with your comments, observations, and suggestions.


Thanks for reading!


Kevin R. Tipple © 2005