Friends Till The End
Mellingham, Massachusetts
Chief of police Joe Silva finds no evidence of foul play in the deaths of a young local man, who overdosed on drugs, and his friend Miles Stine, who died after a seemingly accidental fall from a third-floor window. IN a small coastal town where generations of families go way back, a killer lurking among them is not something folks want to consider.
But Joe has his suspicions. Both victims were recovering addicts and members of a support group down at the community center, and both were trying to stay off drugs.
Evidence points to increasing traffic of both illegal and prescription drugs through a town not ready to believe the worst. Silva knows that what killed these boys is clear - but why is another matter, one that leads to a dark underbelly in a picturesque community.
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Wikipedia in English
Both men were part of an drug-abuse recovery group that meets at the Mellingham Community Center. Chief Silva comes to believe other group members may be at risk, although the identify of the killer – if there is a killer – eludes him. Meanwhile, drugs may be touching the chief’s household – the home where he lives with Gwen McDuffy and her two children. She’s convinced her son’s personality changes may signal drug use and Joe believes they need to confront the issue head-on.
Joe Silva is an unusual character – a tough cop, but with the soul of a social worker. That comes through in all his interactions, professional and personal. A light approach is probably crucial to his success, as Mellingham is a small enough town that many of the people he questions are friends and neighbors. Ron Faroli’s father, for example, is a poker buddy.
Most of the secondary characters in A Murderous Innocence are on the fringes of Mellingham’s middle class. Chandra Stine, Miles’ younger sister, is a survivor despite the fact that she is pretty much raising herself. Her mother Edna is totally self-centered and a world-class rotten mother. Tiny Morley, another former addict, is living in his car, but the author portrays him not as a stereotypical homeless person, but as a complex character the community cares about and that Joe tries to watch over.
Susan Oleskiw creates a believable story in the grey setting of a coastal New England town. It’s not picture-perfect, but its community center and caring volunteers like Ann Rose save the story from being bleak, the situation hopeless. A Murderous Innocence is “not quite cozy,” but is a story with heart, one cozy readers will enjoy.
By Diana. First published in the Cozy Library July 28, 2006.
Review based on publisher- or author-provided review copy.