The Dead of Winter (Winston Crisp Mystery) (edition 1999)

Having been born in Maine, lived in exile reading about Maine for many years, and moved back here a few years ago, I thought I'd have some trouble finding a Maine mystery by an author I hadn't read before. But www.stopyourekillingme.com's Location Index didn't fail me, giving me several choices available at my local library. I chose this one. It appears that Mr. Crossman has written no adult books since 1999, which is too bad. I enjoyed this one enough that I will seek out his first Winston Crisp mystery and his standalone.

Winston Crisp is a retired National Security Agency agent, well into his eighties when the story takes place, in 1970. The setting, nearly 30 years before publication and presumably writing of the book, is necessary for the plot, which deals with a present-day murder with ties to World Wars I and II and the time between them. It also means that there are no cell phones, emails or Internet to deal with -- all the research in the story is done in library archives or by asking long-time island residents for their memories.

The plot of [b:The Dead of Winter|479657|High Country Fall|Margaret Maron|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175107434s/479657.jpg|2058819] is rather convoluted, and the surprise appearance of a second culprit at the end could be faulted. But what I really loved about the book were the setting and characters. The descriptions of the island in Penobscot Bay, socked in by a winter storm, cooled me off in the midst of an August heat wave. The dialogue, which was true-to-life without being overdone, was full of salty expressions and metaphors, which offered both authentic local color and comic relief to a rather grim storyline. I'd recommend this, if you can get hold of a copy. ( )