Show me a “locked room”-style mystery, and I’ll show you a book I simply have to read. Luckily for me (and, I suspect, for many of you!), Tessa Wegert has crafted an utterly irresistible modern-day mystery that is deeply indebted to the great “locked room” puzzles of the past. In DEATH IN THE FAMILY, a complex protagonist - a female police officer who has just moved out of the big city to escape a recent trauma - is called to a private island where a crime has occurred, and the favorite grandson of a wealthy matriarch has gone missing. Investigators descend on the island, and find themselves smack in the middle of a complex web of family secrets and hidden motivations. When a nor’easter descends, the investigators are trapped on the private island with their suspects--and a killer on the loose. DEATH IN THE FAMILY has all the best elements of Agatha Christie-inspired crime fiction: a clever puzzle, a cast of eccentric characters, and a moody atmosphere. But this is not just a Christie homage: it’s also a smart, decidedly modern crime novel that puts a woman’s inner fight with past trauma front and center. This immersive, engaging murder mystery will fill the Agatha Christie-sized hole in your heart, and in your TBR list.
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