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If Christopher Columbus' life might have been easier if he'd had an accurate map of the world, so would the reader of A DEEP BLUE FAREWELL have an easier time if the author/publisher had provided a map. We know we are in a series of islands between Washington state and Canada, but the geography (especially the sailing, the driving, and the ferries) sets the mind spinning. Scotia McKinnon is a p.i. who lives on a boat anchored somewhere off Seattle. She is hired by M.J. Carlyle to investigate the disappearance and apparent drowning of his sister, Tina Breckenridge, whose sailboat, the Alcyone, was found abandoned in the water. The police attribute her death to drowning, though Tina was a very experienced sailor who never sailed without wearing her life jacket. Others -- her family included -- believe that Tina's death was a homicide. Another possibility is that she just got fed up and disappeared of her own volition: her husband was away for months at a time on his crab boat; her adolescent son has become a major problem; her husband planned to move his mother in with them, even though he'd be gone for most of the year and Tina would have to be the caregiver. Since no body has been recovered, any of the above scenarios is a possibility. Tina ran a sailing school for women (read: rich women), with one employee, Katy Quince. Scotia learns that there has been friction between the two women because of Scotia's insistence on strict adherence to safety procedures. Katy had allowed one of the students to sail without a life jacket, thus incurring Tina's wrath. Scotia's investigation leads her into the world of illegal drugs and drug smuggling between the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, Scotia has personal problems. Her lover Nick is being manipulated by his ex-wife, who wants him to come back to her, a conspiracy in which his children are partners. Scotia's own daughter has decided to leave college and become a free spirit -- with the enthusiastic support of Scotia's hippie mother. The story gets bogged down in the myriad driving details: I turned right on X Street and then immediately left on Y street -- as in who cares? Scotia is an interesting character, admirable in her tenaciousness. Two of the best secondary characters are Zelda, Scotia's computer whiz research assistant, whose mood is indicated by the classical music she's chosen for the day and Jared, a reporter who has a business/romantic interest in Scotia. I have some reservations about the content/structure of the ending, but readers will have to decide the believability for themselves.
Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth Devine, July 2002
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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