And on the Surface Die: A Holly Martin Mystery

And on the Surface Die - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat '"Don't discount petty-ante crime," Ben Rodgers, her mentor in The Pas, had told her. "Sometimes they're part of a bigger picture, and it usually involves drugs. Why steal a CD player you can sell for only a twenty unless you need another fix?" But Ben had made his own fatal error. Their last month together, checking out a stolen car seen at a trailer park, he hadn't expected the twelve-year-old deaf boy to be holding a rifle instead of an air gun.' These words were remembered by Holly Martin as she took charge of her first post as a Corporal in Fossil Bay. Fossil Bay, located on the south coast of Vancouver Island, had its fair share of drunk drivers, speeders, theft and as Holly found out on her 1st day of command, an occasional drowning. Angie Didrickson's body had been found by a diver while taking underwater photos. Angie, a student of Notre Dame and one of their star swimmers, was on a senior trip. The trip was supervised by teachers in hopes of keeping the drinking and substance abuse to a minimum. But that didn't seem to stop some of them from slipping out of their tents at night in hopes of a little enjoyment. And on the Surface Die turned out to be a very enjoyable book. It kept me in suspense, as I tried to determine what really happened to Angie and why. Author Lou Allin added another mystery to the story with the disappearance of Holly's own mother. She is drawn between her loyalty to her father and the man her mother was apparently seeing behind his back. One thing that really impressed me with Allin's style of writing was the way she took one mystery, added another and kept the lines open for a continuation of the story. And I, for one, can't wait to read what happens next.

Lou Allin was raised in Ohio, but was born in Toronto, Canada. She earned a Ph.D. in English Renaissance Literature and then headed back to Ontario to teach writing and public speaking. She published five Belle Palmer mysteries, one of which was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award. AND ON THE SURFACE DIE is her first Holly Martin mystery, and this time the backdrop is the beach. Sooke on Vancouver Island SHOULD be paradise. The weather is mild; there should be low crime; and Corporal Holly Martin has moved into her father's sumptuous home. It seems that her greatest challenge will be enlisting the confidence of Ann Troy and Knox Singh, her small but able staff. But on the first day a scuba diver has found the body of a star swimmer from an area high school. How could an Olympian level swimmer die, unless it is murder? To add to the fun, Holly calls West Shore to send out an Inspector, and she gets more than she bargained for: "His cold battleship-grey eyes flicked up and down. 'Whitehouse is the name. I've been sent out here by an officious boss on a fool's mission, and I intend to wrap it up as fast as I can. So let's be clear.' He paused ominously. 'What exactly do you have? What have you done? And don't omit the slightest detail. Some of it may have to be redone. More to the damned point, why the hell did you wait how many days before calling in?'" Lou Allin writes a heck of a mystery. Not only is her backdrop breathtaking, but she identifies nearly early plant and twig in the place. Her literature background provides her with the tools for truly monumental writing. Characters jump out on the page, as does the sadness and tragedy of a young life cut short by stupidity. She is mindful of the problems facing today's adolescents and weaves probably the number one drug problem of today into her plot in a masterful fashion. Holly Martin is an interesting character, and her challenges as she assumes command of a small, understaffed RCMP office are considerable. But she manages her first investigation masterfully, in spite of the many layers of roadblocks. A great read! Shelley Glodowski Senior Reviewer

Holly Martin is an RCMP Corporal in Fossil Bay, located "on the wild south coast of Vancouver Island," Canada, an hour west of Victoria, British Columbia and a quick ferry ride away from Seattle. It is explained that "Southern Vancouver Island is Canada's Caribbean. Little if any snow, but deluges of hail, sleet and rain all winter," and in Fossil Bay itself, with its rocky beaches, and inhabited by 500 people in a dozen streets, they "don't have any stoplights, so nothing ever changes but the weather. Even the geese don't leave." The RCMP detachment is manned by three cops supported by a small volunteer staff. As the book opens Holly gets a call about a 17-year-old girl found drowned at a spot called Botanical Beach - is it an accidental drowning, or is something more involved? [The dead girl was apparently a champion swimmer.] It had been an innocent-enough outing, a traditional one with chaperones and 45 members of the graduating class of a local Catholic school which Holly herself had attended years earlier, but often, as the author notes, "what looked perfect on the surface was a tangled mess behind." Those of us from parts of the world other than North America and even from "the lower 48" may have to get used, as this reader did, to colloquialisms and local vernacular and even terminology of the area [i.e., the indigenous, aboriginal "natives" are referred to as First Nations, with the term "Indians" now considered not p.c.] Holly is a very interesting protagonist. Never far from her mind is her mother, a social activist who just disappeared one day. Holly only recently reunited with her nearly-sixty-year-old father, a university professor nearing sixty who has never wanted to declare Holly's mother dead despite the passage of ten years. This book is the first in the Holly Martin series. I would surmise that this story line will be picked up in future books. One can only hope. It should be noted that the author has previously written five books in the popular Belle Palmer Series, which took place in the nickel-mining community of Sudbury, Ontario. [In case you were wondering, the title of the book is from a poem by Tennyson.] Recommended.

Thirty two years old Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Holly Martin is excited with her first leadership position even if the caseload is minor crimes. She has been placed in charge of the RCMP Fossil Bay Detachment unit west of Victoria on the southern wilderness coast of Vancouver Island when Reg Wilkinson opted for early retirement. Having come from the area, Holly knows she will predominately be dealing with vehicular offenses and the occasional robbery of a tourist. Still she plans to do her best as this is the first step towards becoming a sergeant and ultimately a staff sergeant. However, her first day on the job finds her taken aback when scuba diver Bob Johnson finds the drowned body of a teenage girl in the surf at Botanical Beach. The victim turns out to be the high school swimming team star Angie Didrickson, who was on an overnight field trip with her classmates when she apparently accidentally drowned. Holly and her subordinates (Sikh-Canadian Constable Knox Singh and somewhat limited due to health issues Constable Ann Troy) question those on the field trip but no witnesses saw Angie leave the campsite for the beach. An inspector from Victoria does a quick inquiry and calls it accidental drowning to close the case, but Holly has doubts further fueled by the toxicology report stating the victim used crystal meth, but the police corporal wonders whether a superstar athlete would ruin her body that way. With Belle Palmer, Northern Ontario amateur sleuth extraordinaire taking a breather (see NORTHERN WINTERS ARE MURDER and BLACKFLIES ARE MURDER), Lou Allin turns to a professional in Western Canada with the same level of excellent quality. This is an exciting RCMP police investigative thriller starring a dedicated cop who must overcome the doubts of her crew that she is ready to replace the much more experienced Wilkinson. Readers will relish Holly's first few days on the job in scenic Fossil Bay, British Columbia. Harriet Klausner