Review by Booklist Review
Historian Chloe Ellefson is looking forward to being a guest curator at a lighthouse on Lake Michigan's remote Rock Island. The temporary job allows her a break from her micromanaging boss at Old World Wisconsin and the opportunity to ponder if she is emotionally ready for a romantic relationship with cop Roelke McKenna. Chloe soon becomes immersed in the lives of long-ago lighthouse keeper Emily Betts and island resident Ragna Anderson, whose husband died under suspicious circumstances. Chloe's story, set in 1982, alternates with Emily and Ragna's, set in 1869. When Chloe discovers the bodies of two women, both of whom have washed up on the lakeshore, she attempts to investigate their murders, finding that her research ties in with contemporary events. Framed by the history of lighthouses and their keepers and the story of fishery disputes through time, the multiple plots move easily across the intertwined past and present.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Ernst's leisurely third Chloe Ellefson mystery set in 1982 Wisconsin (after 2011's The Heirloom Murders) takes museum curator Chloe to Lake Michigan's Rock Island, a state park, to do research on restoring the island's lighthouse. This excursion also gives her time to think about her relationship with her policeman boyfriend, Roelke McKenna, who gave her Sue Grafton's A Is for Alibi before she left Eagle, Wis. Soon enough Chloe is involved in a mystery of her own after she stumbles on a dead body wrapped in fishnet on the island's beach. An account of a 19th-century Danish settler, net maker Ragna Anderson, alternates with Chloe's adventures, providing a rich, if confusing, historical background. The discovery of a second body (also wrapped in fishnet), narrow escapes from the lighthouse, and a kayak battle add to the suspense. Natural descriptions abound, though often at the expense of pace. Agent: Andrea Cascardi, Transatlantic Literary. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
On temporary curatorial assignment to one of Wisconsin's famed Door County lighthouses, historian Chloe Ellefson is thrilled by her solitary setting. Chloe has feelings for her buildings-she experiences "auditory echoes"-and quickly becomes immersed in the area's history, convinced that something sinister happened on this island long ago. But there is nothing historical about the dead body washed up on the beach. When Chloe's research introduces her to assistant lighthouse keeper Emily Betts and her friend, Danish immigrant Ragna, Chloe senses the story must be told. Unfortunately, other issues, such as another dead body, interfere. V-ERDICT A haunted island makes for fun escape reading. Ernst's third amateur sleuth cozy (after Heirloom Murders) is just the ticket for lighthouse fans and genealogy buffs. Deftly flipping back and forth in time in alternating chapters, the author builds up two mystery cases and cleverly weaves them back together. Pair with Dianne Day historicals and Katherine Hall Page's Faith Fairchild series. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A curator is happy to be loaned out to investigate an old lighthouse, until her trip turns from a treat into a nightmare. Chloe Ellefson is not on the best terms with her boss at Old World Wisconsin. So, a trip to an uninhabited island to do research on a lighthouse that's under restoration sounds like fun despite the misgivings of Roelke McKenna, her police officer boyfriend. Chloe arrives without incident on Rock Island, which has been designated a state park despite the efforts of developers. She meets park manager Garrett Smith. She settles in at Pottawatomie Lighthouse. But her peace is shattered when she goes to the beach and discovers the body of a dead woman. The unknown girl is far from the first victim of the dangerous waters of Lake Michigan. In addition, Chloe quickly learns that there's always been tension between commercial and sport fishermen and the authorities who must enforce the ever-changing rules. She becomes intrigued with the life and times of Emily Betts, assistant keeper to her husband, William, in the 1870s. Chloe has the unwelcome gift of exceptional sensitivity to things in the past, and she has bad feelings about an area of the island, formerly a fishing village, that an archaeologist is now exploring. The story cuts back and forth between the troubles and privations of the early settlers and the present day, where a murderer lurks. It falls to Chloe to marry past and present and find a killer who can't stop at just one. Chloe's third (The Heirloom Murders, 2011, etc.) combines a good mystery with some interesting historical information on a niche subject.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
