Thickafog
An Archer Island Mystery
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Crime and Punishment meets Demon Copperhead in this psychological mystery set on a remote Maine island, from the glorious days of summer to the harsh storms of winter.
Thickafog is a mystery wrapped up in a love story between two elderly characters, as well as for all the citizens of Archer Island who persevere through the challenges of addiction, teenage angst, and isolation.
Narrator Jon Davis becomes the lead suspect in the murder of his father Bobby, who is found dead at the bottom of a cliff near Jon's house. Bobby had moved in with his son nine months ago, after getting kicked out of assisted living in Florida, apparently for making unwelcome advances to a wealthy lady.
Jon, a carpenter, is battling alcoholism and is a loner whose life becomes complicated when his smooth father pursues Ingrid Backlund, the "Island Queen," who suffers from early onset dementia. Ingrid's drug dealer son Kevin distrusts this newcomer "from away" and blames Jon for bringing Bobby into the community, fearing his father is angling for his inheritance. Jon struggles to understand and reconcile with his father, as their time together reopens emotional wounds.
The island itself becomes a character, with multi-generational lobstermen and newly arrived summer people living together, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes uneasily, in a place as harsh in winter as it is glorious in summer.
Exploring themes of fate and self-determination, Thickafog takes readers on a wild ride that lingers long after the last page is turned and the fog finally lifts.
Inspired by the beauty of Vinalhaven island and the people who live there.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this stunning literary mystery from Mason (coauthor of Young Again, as Don Trowden), a gruff carpenter becomes the primary suspect in his father's murder. Nine months ago, alcoholic loner Jon Davis's estranged father, Bobby, moved in with him on Maine's Archer Island. Though Bobby was kicked out of his Florida assisted living facility, he manages to charm most of Archer's year-rounders—especially "Island Queen" Ingrid Backlund. But Ingrid suffers from early-onset dementia, and her family sees Bobby as a suspicious, smooth-talking outsider. When Bobby is found dead at the bottom of a popular scenic overlook, Jon's fingerprints are found on the rock that police assume to be the murder weapon. Much of the story unfolds in flashback, with Jon sketching in his and Bobby's strained relationship and turning a suspicious eye toward his colleague, Kevin, who happens to be Ingrid's wayward son. A plot thread following Jon's mentorship of a troubled teenage carpenter illuminates the novel's central theme: "the good that comes from the bad." Mason burrows deep into Jon's battered psyche and Archer Island's insular community, and he paints nuanced portraits of his main characters without ever letting the intrigue slacken. Readers who like their whodunits on the meditative side will love this.
