Eleanor Trewynn, her niece detective seargant Megan
Pencarrow and Eleanor's artist neighbor Nick decide to take
a walk along the seaside cliffs. They notice a young man
struggling in the water and Megan jumps in to help him.
While he is in hospital Megan is assigned to sit with him
and in his delirium he says that there are more people
stranded in a cave. Eleanor takes it on herself to help find
his family and get them out of the cave. With help from her
friend Jocelyn and Nick, Eleanor questions anyone she can
think of who would be able to shed some light on the
mysterious caves. She talks to a man who supplies her with
things for her shop and he tells her about some hidden caves
and about some smuggling that has been done in that area.
Megan helps rescue the family and then they set out to find
the person that was responsible for leaving them in the cave
where one person lost their life and another died in the
hospital.
THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW by Carola Dunn is set in the small
town of Port Mabyn, Cornwall. Eleanor has helped the police
several times in solving crimes with the help of her friends
and her niece. Megan's boss is not happy about Eleanor's
interference but concedes that they could use her this time.
There are vivid descriptions of the area in England where
the story takes place. The characters are fun and very
believeable. I really loved the storyline and it kept my
interest through the whole book. There is a nice balance
between description and dialogue and also a bit of humor
thrown in. Cozy mystery readers will definitely enjoy THE
VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.
A cryptic message spurs Eleanor, Megan, and Nick Gresham on
a frantic search for a refugee's missing family.
While out on a walk, Eleanor Trewynn, her niece Megan, and
her neighbor Nick spot a young, half-drowned Indian man
floating in the water. Delirious and concussed, he utters a
cryptic message about his family being trapped in a cave and
his mother dying. The young man, unconscious and unable to
help, is whisked away to a hospital while a desperate effort
is mounted find the missing family in time.
The local police inspector presumes that they are refugees
from East Africa, abandoned by the smugglers who brought
them in, so while the countryside is being scoured for the
family, Eleanor herself descends into a dangerous den of
smugglers in a desperate search to find the man responsible
while there is still time.