Susan S. James Solace Glen Honeymoon

Solace Glen Honeymoon

Susan S. James

Berkley, Oct 2005, $5.99, 256 pp.

ISBN 042520636X

Cleaning woman Felicity Ann "Flip" Paxton and lawyer Tom Scott have a beautiful wedding ceremony and reception thanks to the Circle Ladies. For their honeymoon, they stay at the Caribbean resort Camp Iguana on Little Cayman Island. Jimbo and his wife Laurie and their partner Jay own the resort but Jay wants out and accepts a down payment from one of the guests who thinks it is a good deal.

Jimbo is determined to hold Jay to the terms of their contract which states one partner has to sell to the other partner for fair market value; to make matters worse, it is obvious that Lauren is in love with Jay and is probably having an affair with him. Jimbo's friend Buddy is ready to kill Jay for hurting his friend and Tookie, Jay's other girlfriend, is hurt when he abuses her. Jay disappears during a scuba diving event; his body washes ashore with a knife wound to his chest. Almost immediately after his death Jay's wife Liza, who nobody knew about, surfaces to find the funds he took from their accounts. The problem as Flip sees it is that they have too many suspects and she starts investigating to find out who has the strongest motive.

After reading this mystery readers will want to visit Little Cayman Island because the descriptions make it seem like a real paradise. Lest anyone think Tom and Flip spend all their time sleuthing, they find plenty of time for romance. Though why Flip investigates is a stretch, Susan S. James strength lives in the realistic characterizations because readers can identify with them. Although this is a relatively new series, it is one of the better ones on the shelves.

Harriet Klausner