A Body in the Sacristy (Barrettsport Mysteries Book 1)
by Alan KemisterPublish: Apr 21, 2018Series: Barrettsport MysteriesMysteryBook Overview
A carpenter discovers a baby girl's carefully preserved body in the Anglican church of a small coastal community on Nova Scotia's South Shore. Who was she? Was she murdered? If so, by whom? And how did her body end up in a sealed cabinet?In his first case, newly recruited Barrettsport police detective Simon Goodyear tackles these questions. Simon has traded his job as an undercover cop on a big city vice squad for a simpler life in a small town where he can help his friends and neighbors. As he works on the puzzle, he discovers that his new stomping ground isn't as bucolic as he hoped.
During the investigation, the church secretary provides Simon with important lessons on the political and social structure of his new hometown. He discovers that the quirky nature of the town and its most prominent citizens are key factors leading to the mystery's solution.
I would classify this book as a soft-boiled mystery, a locked-room whodunit without the graphic sex, violence, and tough guy hero of the hard-boiled variety. It resembles in some ways a cozy mystery with elements of police procedural. Or, I could argue it’s a traditional British mystery set in Nova Scotia (New Scotland). The focus is on a basically nice guy small-town cop interacting with the town’s unusual characters as he pursues the solution to his puzzle.
If you find that sort of story interesting, A Body in the Sacristy should appeal to you. Discover it, and subsequent Barrettsport Mysteries here on Amazon.
“…well thought out, intricately structured plot. Well done!”—Nova Scotia Writers Federation reviewer.
“A Body in the Sacristy is a page-turner. I look forward to more of Alan’s books.”—Catherine A. MacKenzie, author of Wolves Don’t Knock.
“Alan Kemister has created a captivating mystery. He describes an intriguing South Shore Nova Scotia town and has the reader solving the crime and discovering the social foibles of the community with detective Goodyear.”—Tom Robson, author of Wait and See, a romance set in Nova Scotia.
“Kemister draws you into the deceptive calm of small town Barrettsport before he drops you into a scandalous mystery that you just have to know the answer to.”—Kat Smutz, author of best selling history in an hour books and the recently released Silent Tears.
