5 Addictive, New (and from Last Year) Mysteries We Can't Put Down
Looking
to travel far, far away—and solve a few murders? Pick up these fresh,
smart reads for fall.
5 of 5
The Gray Ghost Murders
By Keith McCafferty
336 pages;
Penguin Books
Former
P.I. Sean Stranahan moves to Montana after his painful divorce, to fish and
contemplate how "the wonder of a trout had nothing to
do with its spots or the sheen of its flanks, but its ability to pull the
angler back through time until he was no longer what the world had made of him,
but who he was when the world was new." Sean's would-be life of fishing and philosophy is not to be, however: Two bodies surface on a nearby
mountain and several vintage fishing flies—worth thousands of
dollars—disappear from the local fly-fishing society; and, soon
enough, he's thrown back into detective work. To a reader, the theft
of some outdoor gear may not seem that alluring. You'll find yourself obsessed with the
story, though, due to McCafferty's hilarious, spot-on depiction of rural
politics (starring a female sheriff, a latte-making love interest and a fishing
buddy), which proves that small Western towns are as rich—if not
richer—in complexity as any world capital.
— Nathalie Gorman
Published 09/16/2013