By Shelley Burbank
Happy Friday, Type M Clan!
I hope your July is going swimmingly. Here in Guam we are heading toward rainy season and have had several days of downpours–not unwelcome from my point of view. I love a good rainy day. They tend to be excellent for writing, cozy and hushed.
Every once in a while I am approached with a request to read an Advanced Reader Copy and write a review. Part of membership in the writing community is helping other authors where we can. When I received an email from a publicist asking if I’d consider reading and reviewing a literary mystery, the author’s second book, I asked the PR rep how she heard about me. (I’m not exactly famous!)
She said she saw my posts on Type M and thought I’d be a good fit. I thought that was cool, so I said, “yes” and was privileged to read the ARC for Alice Fitzpatrick’s A DARK DEATH. Rather than a straight-up reader-type review, I’ve decided to analyze it from a writer’s point of view and for Type M readers who may be interested in studying the various pieces of a novel and all the choices a writer makes while creating a new story.
Different authors start with different pieces. Sometimes a character comes first. Other times, the plot or setting or theme. The ideal outcome involves all these elements fitting together seamlessly, usually accomplished through the revision process. While drafting, the subconscious often works some magic. Themes and insights and imagery bubble up from the depths, and these are woven in and expanded on second and third drafts. When everything mixes well, the book resonates at a deeper level. We can't always hit this mark, but, dear readers and writers, we can try.
In A DARK DEATH, author Alice Fitzpatrick hones in on the darkness.
The Mystery Plot
Set on a picturesque Welsh island, A DARK DEATH weaves together several mysteries. The central mystery begins with the discovery of a dead body, naked and posed, at an archaeological dig site. Secondary subplots include a mystical encounter during the filming of a ghost-hunting/paranormal traipse through a dark, abandoned mansion and to a lesser extent the mystery of the archaeological site itself at which anomalous artifacts are found, puzzling and exciting the team working there.
This book manages to combine cozy mystery with touches of Gothic horror, paranormal, dark academia, and archaeological adventure. Rich and complex stuff!
The Characters
The main character in A DARK DEATH is retired high school English teacher turned writer and amateur sleuth, Kate Glaway. Like many cozy mystery sleuths, Kate is well-liked and trusted in the community, pragmatic, and nosy. She’s not afraid to ask questions and wheedle information out of the police detectives. She and her feisty (and sex obsessed) friend, Shiobhan, can’t resist investigating the murder, especially to help clear the names of two suspects Kate knows and cares for.
A big cast of possible suspects creates a fun jumble of characters. From quirky locals to a psychic conman, a team of archaeology students, and three police detectives, each character adds their own motivations and foibles to the twisty mystery while providing some flirtatious banter and interpersonal conflicts along the way. Important to the dark thread, many characters have "shadow" personality traits lurking behind their more innocuous faces, or hidden or forgotten trauma seeping through the cracks.
The Setting
I enjoyed armchair-visiting Meredith Island in Wales. The Welsh language touches were used sparingly, so as not to overwhelm the reader, but there were enough to lend atmosphere and authenticity. With descriptions of the boats on the waterfront, a cozy pub and hotel, a Gothic manor home, windswept cliffs, rocky beaches, and coastal cottages for contrast, the setting details paired well with the plot and characters.
The Themes
Although mysteries are by design aimed at the head, not the heart–at their core they are puzzles–giving characters personal troubles, psychological traumas, and interpersonal conflicts adds depth. A DARK DEATH explores guilt, shame, fraud, jealousy, and a dark crisis of faith through the various characters. Even the main character, Kate, struggles with midlife questioning of her career path, wondering what she’s missed by not continuing on to a higher educational degree.
The Writing
Mysteries can be written in styles ranging from cute and commercial to dark and literary, and though Alice Fitzpatrick’s language falls more to the side of literary than the cute, I found her writing to be very readable. I enjoyed the descriptions, and the sentence structure was varied enough to keep my interest. I would have liked a bit more dark, atmospheric language to fit the vibe of the book, but authors also need to develop a personal style that carries over from book to book.
The Whole Package
A good cover design is essential, and I think the publisher, Stonehouse Publishing, nailed it. The broody colors. The dark cliffs in the background. The clouds rolling in. It doesn’t scream “island” but you get the sense of it. The bold white lettering of the title stands out and the orange sun adds pop.
Combined with a twisty mystery, a charming cast of characters, interesting themes, and the Gothic and dark academia elements, this mystery works. Alice Fitzpatrick must be happy with her second Meredith Island mystery, and I think I’ll have to read the first one, Secrets in the Water, to catch up.
