Death in the Family

A fierce storm, a secluded island and a dysfunctional family. 

Deception, a missing person and a police detective with a haunting past of her own. 

Add them all together and you get a tense and compelling beginning to a thriller series.

Former NYPD detective Shana Merchant moves to a quiet upstate New York town with her fiancé and finds out that crime can happen even in the quietest of places. Shana is a seasoned detective whose life was thrown into a tailspin after she was involved in a case that left her scarred and unsure of her abilities as a cop.

This was an entertaining, fast-paced locked room whodunnit! Shana and her new police partner are called out to a private island owned by the wealthy (and highly dysfunctional) Sinclair family when a family member goes missing. A sudden, violent storm prevents help from the mainland and strands Shana and her partner on the island where the suspect list continues to rise. 

This is a cleverly crafted whodunnit that will keep readers guessing and entertained as they witness this family implode while also being tempted by the dark tidbits from Shana's violent past. 

Added bonus: I loved immediately recognizing the location of Alexandria Bay, NY since I visited Boldt Castle on Heart Island in that area last June.

Compelling, addictive and featuring a strong female main character, I eagerly look forward to reading more from this series.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Tessa Wegert

Genre: Suspense, Canadian

Series: 1st in Shana Merchant series

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from public library

Publisher: Berkley

First Published: February 18, 2020

Book Description from GoodReads: A storm-struck island. A blood-soaked bed. A missing man. In this captivating mystery that's perfect for fans of Knives Out , Senior Investigator Shana Merchant discovers that murder is a family affair .

Thirteen months ago, former NYPD detective Shana Merchant barely survived being abducted by a serial killer. Now hoping to leave grisly murder cases behind, she's taken a job in her fiancé's sleepy hometown in the Thousand Islands region of Upstate New York.

But as a nor'easter bears down on her new territory, Shana and fellow investigator Tim Wellington receive a call about a man missing on a private island. Shana and Tim travel to the isolated island owned by the wealthy Sinclair family to question the witnesses. They arrive to find blood on the scene and a house full of Sinclair family and friends on edge.

While Tim guesses they're dealing with a runaway case, Shana is convinced that they have a murder on their hands. As the gale intensifies outside, she starts conducting interviews and discovers the Sinclairs and their guests are crawling with dark and dangerous secrets.

Trapped on the island by the raging storm with only Tim whose reliability is thrown into question, the increasingly restless suspects, and her own trauma-fueled flashbacks for company, Shana will have to trust the one person her abduction destroyed her faith in—herself. But time is ticking down, because if Shana's right, a killer is in their midst and as the pressure mounts, so do the odds that they'll strike again.