Murder in Maine

Rating:
Summary: About good people caught in bad circumstances
Review: Lori A. Gordon lives in Vestal, New York with her family. She is not new to the publishing world, having had several articles published, but Murder in Maine is her first mystery.

Anne Wyndham has had a rough life thus far. Her parents were killed in a car accident which she herself survived, and the nightmares are vivid. In the opening to Murder in Maine, Anne is in bed and realizes her apartment and her landscaping business below are on fire and that the only way she will survive is if she jumps out of her window. But at the last moment she is rescued by tall, dark, and handsome Brock Cameron, who has come to tell her that her beloved uncle has committed suicide. Anne and Brock hurry back to Maine, where strange happenings have been afoot:

"'The accidents started about the time that Mr. Brock came...Mr. Brock promised that he'd get to the bottom of things, but he never did...A few days before your uncle died, he sent for Mr. Brock...they had a terrible fight.' Mrs. Monroe's words echoed in Anne's mind as she sat in the gathering darkness. Could Brock have had anything to do with the accidents? Why? What did he stand to gain?"

Murder in Maine is a delicately written story about the quest for meaning in a world filled with unhappy and bitter events. Anne Wyndham and Brock Cameron are both orphans who are looking for meaning and connection in their lives. The death of Anne's Uncle James brings them together and then threatens to tear them apart. Their characters are both sweet and uncomplicated people who are driven by the need to do the right thing when everything around them is falling apart.

Ms. Gordon writes an inspirational tale, but also does a good job of following the mystery genre in this unusual whodunit. She has a nice grasp of how reality can turn people around to the point where they don't know where to turn, and she offers more than a few biblical quotations as a means of not only redemption, but as a guidebook on how to transcend the problems of the world. Anne and Brock and good people caught in bad circumstances, and Ms. Gordon's loving handling of their situation gives hope and insight into everyday events. A good read.

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer