An enticing double mystery with paranormal elements set in the New England summer
Loretta Marion’s Haunted Bluffs series of standalone mystery novels set on Cape Cod is now in its third instalment with Legacy Of The Bluffs. It extends a warm welcome to first time readers and a real pleasure to returning fans.
Cassandra Mitchell is the resident of Battersea Bluffs, a Victorian mansion that has been owned by her family for generations. For better or for worse, the mansion is haunted by Cassie’s grandparents, who seem to helpfully guide their granddaughter through scents.
When TJ, a tenant of the estate grounds, is found dead and later revealed to have been a journalist investigating a local candidate for Congress, Cassie finds herself thrown into another sleuthing whirlwind.
Parallel to the murder case, Cassie faces another mystery, one pertaining to the Mitchell family. She uncovers some letters written by her grandmother having to do with the male progeny of their line, who are perceived to be cursed. This is a puzzle that Cassie is thinking twice about solving, since it could alter her own life for good. Inevitably, there is a link between the two seemingly unconnected mysteries. As everything unfolds, Cassie also has to deal with the vicissitudes that come with being a first time mom caring for a little baby.
It is evident that Loretta Marion’s writing flows with a ceaseless energy, one that tries to tell you what happens next with a certain breathlessness. It’s something you feel on the page. It comes with the type of surprise you only get when the author is having a blast writing.
The protagonist acts as a vessel for the author’s enthusiasm, while also managing to stand in for the reader due to her lack of omniscience as a first-person narrator. She, too, has no idea what’s going to happen next. The book does a wonderful job of establishing the tone and settings as well, both Cape Cod as a whole and each specific scene.
The book commits some faux pas in executing the plot though, too. For one, Cassandra can use scents from her grandparents’ ghosts to decipher clues, but this skill is only marginally employed and little referred to. We also don’t really get to play the cat-and-mouse game of deducing who the culprit is before the reveal. These may be deliberate rule breaks on the author’s part, but it does give off the impression of something missing.
Treated as nearly as important, as important, or even more important than solving the mysteries are the familial relationships that pervade it. The dynamics of mother and child, husband and wife, sister and sister, are all afforded a subtle reverence that gives humanity to the story and makes it feel larger than the sum value of the events it describes. Mystery aficionados will have something unique and nutritious to chew on with Legacy of the Bluffs.
What did you think?