by Pa Rock
Reader
It's been awhile since I have plugged my two favorite sources of fine mystery stories: Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (AHMM) and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (EQMM). Both are published by Dell Magazines and arrive in my mailbox six times.a year - often on the same day. I have been a subscriber for more than a decade - probably closer to two decades - and had been a purchaser of individual copies from a local retailer for years before subscribing. I read those two magazines cover-to-cover and enjoy them immensely.
The current issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine features at story by Shelly Dickson Carr, a granddaughter off well known writer John Dickson Carr. It is the younger Carr's first publication in EQMM, although her mother, Julia McNiven, had a story published there in 1974 - and her famous grandfather had several stories published in the same outlet.
Early last month I used this space to review the mystery novel "Nantucket Soap Opera" by SFX Dean, a fictional tale that was set on the island of Nantucket during the 1980's. The current story by Shelly Dickson Carr entitled "Nantucket Undertow," is also a work of fiction, and it takes place on Nantucket in the present day. It is the first story that I remember in either EQMM or AHMM that used Nantucket as a backdrop. In keeping with my new found penchant for reviewing literary enterprises with the word "Nantucket" in the title, I will briefly introduce Ms. Carr's compelling tale here today.
Alden and Alexandra were students at a very exclusive prep school on the eastern seaboard several years before. They worked on assignments together and for awhile it looked as though they would become romantically involved - at least Alden hoped they would. But then Alexandra suddenly cooled toward Alden, and he spent the final few years of school pining for her and suffering through the rejection that he never understood.
Alexandra, who became known as "Zuzu," went on to marry a rich prat and spent several years in a very unhappy marriage. Eventually she gave up on the loveless union, filed for divorce, and went off to hideout on Nantucket until the divorce could become final. She changed her appearance (hair style and color, tinted contact lenses, clothing options) and got a job as a barista at a local coffee shop because she feared that her husband might try to harm her if he could locate her.
Alden graduated from school and then disappointed his affluent parents by becoming a policeman. A few years later after working as an undercover narcotics agent who occasionally got to "whack" bad guys, he lost his job on the police force after accidentally killing an infant. Having developed an ease with snuffing people, he easily transitioned into a new career field - being a contract killer.
As this story opens, Alden is also on Nantucket where he is preparing to fulfill a contract for an aggrieved husband who has just found out that he wife he wants shed of is working incognito as a barista on the island. Alden, in one of his many disguises, is standing in line at the coffee shop preparing to scope out his next victim - but when he steps forward to place an order with the woman he has been hired to kill, he immediately recognizes her.
And from there things get complicated - and very interesting!
For anyone - like me - who has yet to set foot on the very small island that was once the whaling capital of the entire world, "Nantucket Undertow" by Shelly Dickson Carr offers a quick, but very satisfying, glimpse into what life on Nantucket is like today. Ms. Carr spins a clever and captivating tale.
"Nantucket Undertow" is a five-star story in a five-star magazine - an entertaining escape to a unique locale - an especially welcome getaway when the whole world is stuck at home.
Reader
It's been awhile since I have plugged my two favorite sources of fine mystery stories: Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (AHMM) and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (EQMM). Both are published by Dell Magazines and arrive in my mailbox six times.a year - often on the same day. I have been a subscriber for more than a decade - probably closer to two decades - and had been a purchaser of individual copies from a local retailer for years before subscribing. I read those two magazines cover-to-cover and enjoy them immensely.
The current issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine features at story by Shelly Dickson Carr, a granddaughter off well known writer John Dickson Carr. It is the younger Carr's first publication in EQMM, although her mother, Julia McNiven, had a story published there in 1974 - and her famous grandfather had several stories published in the same outlet.
Early last month I used this space to review the mystery novel "Nantucket Soap Opera" by SFX Dean, a fictional tale that was set on the island of Nantucket during the 1980's. The current story by Shelly Dickson Carr entitled "Nantucket Undertow," is also a work of fiction, and it takes place on Nantucket in the present day. It is the first story that I remember in either EQMM or AHMM that used Nantucket as a backdrop. In keeping with my new found penchant for reviewing literary enterprises with the word "Nantucket" in the title, I will briefly introduce Ms. Carr's compelling tale here today.
Alden and Alexandra were students at a very exclusive prep school on the eastern seaboard several years before. They worked on assignments together and for awhile it looked as though they would become romantically involved - at least Alden hoped they would. But then Alexandra suddenly cooled toward Alden, and he spent the final few years of school pining for her and suffering through the rejection that he never understood.
Alexandra, who became known as "Zuzu," went on to marry a rich prat and spent several years in a very unhappy marriage. Eventually she gave up on the loveless union, filed for divorce, and went off to hideout on Nantucket until the divorce could become final. She changed her appearance (hair style and color, tinted contact lenses, clothing options) and got a job as a barista at a local coffee shop because she feared that her husband might try to harm her if he could locate her.
Alden graduated from school and then disappointed his affluent parents by becoming a policeman. A few years later after working as an undercover narcotics agent who occasionally got to "whack" bad guys, he lost his job on the police force after accidentally killing an infant. Having developed an ease with snuffing people, he easily transitioned into a new career field - being a contract killer.
As this story opens, Alden is also on Nantucket where he is preparing to fulfill a contract for an aggrieved husband who has just found out that he wife he wants shed of is working incognito as a barista on the island. Alden, in one of his many disguises, is standing in line at the coffee shop preparing to scope out his next victim - but when he steps forward to place an order with the woman he has been hired to kill, he immediately recognizes her.
And from there things get complicated - and very interesting!
For anyone - like me - who has yet to set foot on the very small island that was once the whaling capital of the entire world, "Nantucket Undertow" by Shelly Dickson Carr offers a quick, but very satisfying, glimpse into what life on Nantucket is like today. Ms. Carr spins a clever and captivating tale.
"Nantucket Undertow" is a five-star story in a five-star magazine - an entertaining escape to a unique locale - an especially welcome getaway when the whole world is stuck at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment