Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Deadly Tides by Mary Keliikoa

Mary Keliikoa writes two mystery series, one about private investigator Kelly Pruett and one about Sheriff Jax Turner in a small Oregon town called Misty Pines. Her Kelly Pruett books have been nominated for the Shamus, Lefty, Agatha, and Anthony awards. The first book in the Misty Pines series was a finalist for the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion and won the Ippy Silver Award. The second book in the Misty Pines series, Deadly Tides, is scheduled for release by Level Best Books on 24 October 2023.

Deadly Tides opens with FBI agent Abby Kanekoa searching frantically for her mother who has wandered away from the assisted living facility again. The facility staff weren’t quite sure when she had slipped out but everyone was confident she wasn’t dressed for the January temperatures in Oregon.

In the meantime her ex-husband Sheriff Jax Turner fielded a request for a check on surfboard shop owner Terry Chesney, who had been talking to his brother on the telephone the previous night when their call was interrupted on Terry’s end. He didn’t call back to finish the conversation and he was not responding to further calls. Turner found an unlocked house and recently purchased groceries that had not been put away, along with Chesney’s wallet and cell phone. No sign of the man himself though. Turner alerted his staff and they began a search of the dense woods behind Chesney’s house.

From this promising beginning a complicated story develops, including two missing men, a dead homeless man, lost designs for custom surfboards, two teenagers whose stories keep changing, and a host of suspects. Underlying the multiple investigations is Turner’s slow recovery from the death of his daughter and misery over his subsequent divorce from Abby. Strong psychological suspense begins to build midway as possible motives for murder start to unfold. Fans of character-driven mysteries and psychological thrillers will like this one.

 

·         Publisher: ‎Level Best Books (October 24, 2023)

·         Language: ‎English

·         Paperback: ‎302 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1685122795

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1685122799

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2023

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.