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A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #3
Death in a Mood Indigo
When two children make a grisly discovery on Sconset beach, Detective Meredith Folger finds herself with a perplexing case on her hands. The crime lab can tell her only that the newly unearthed skeletal remains belonged to a woman who was strangled to death somewhere between two and ten years ago—a conclusion that sends Merry sifting through old missing-persons files. But then a shocking piece of news changes everything.
The Massachusetts police have arrested a man they believe to be a serial killer. His five known victims were all women—all strangled. Is Merry's Nantucket skeleton the killer's first victim? And do the state cops have the right man? When the murderer strikes again, he'll draw Merry into a deadly cat and mouse game in which she's the final target....
The Massachusetts police have arrested a man they believe to be a serial killer. His five known victims were all women—all strangled. Is Merry's Nantucket skeleton the killer's first victim? And do the state cops have the right man? When the murderer strikes again, he'll draw Merry into a deadly cat and mouse game in which she's the final target....
334 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1997
220 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Francine Mathews
27 books312 followersFrancine Mathews was born in Binghamton, NY in 1963, the last of six girls. Her father was a retired general in the Air Force, her mother a beautiful woman who loved to dance. The family spent their summers on Cape Cod, where two of the Barron girls now live with their families; Francine's passion for Nantucket and the New England shoreline dates from her earliest memories. She grew up in Washington, D.C., and attended Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, a two hundred year-old Catholic school for girls that shares a wall with Georgetown University. Her father died of a heart attack during her freshman year.
In 1981, she started college at Princeton – one of the most formative experiences of her life. There she fenced for the club varsity team and learned to write news stories for The Daily Princetonian – a hobby that led to two part-time jobs as a journalist for The Miami Herald and The San Jose Mercury News. Francine majored in European History, studying Napoleonic France, and won an Arthur W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship in the Humanities in her senior year. But the course she remembers most vividly from her time at Princeton is "The Literature of Fact," taught by John McPhee, the Pulitzer Prize winning author and staff writer for The New Yorker. John influenced Francine's writing more than even she knows and certainly more than she is able to say.
Francine spent three years at Stanford pursuing a doctorate in history; she failed to write her dissertation (on the Brazilian Bar Association under authoritarianism; can you blame her?) and left with a Masters. She applied to the CIA, spent a year temping in Northern Virginia while the FBI asked inconvenient questions of everyone she had ever known, passed a polygraph test on her twenty-sixth birthday, and was immediately thrown into the Career Trainee program: Boot Camp for the Agency's Best and Brightest. Four years as an intelligence analyst at the CIA were profoundly fulfilling, the highlights being Francine's work on the Counter terrorism Center's investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and sleeping on a horsehair mattress in a Spectre-era casino in the middle of Bratislava.
Another peak moment was her chance to debrief ex-President George Bush in Houston in 1993. But what she remembers most about the place are the extraordinary intelligence and dedication of most of the staff – many of them women – many of whom cannot be named.
She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Fifteen books have followed, along with sundry children, dogs, and houses. When she's not writing, she likes to ski, garden, needlepoint, and buy art.
In 1981, she started college at Princeton – one of the most formative experiences of her life. There she fenced for the club varsity team and learned to write news stories for The Daily Princetonian – a hobby that led to two part-time jobs as a journalist for The Miami Herald and The San Jose Mercury News. Francine majored in European History, studying Napoleonic France, and won an Arthur W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship in the Humanities in her senior year. But the course she remembers most vividly from her time at Princeton is "The Literature of Fact," taught by John McPhee, the Pulitzer Prize winning author and staff writer for The New Yorker. John influenced Francine's writing more than even she knows and certainly more than she is able to say.
Francine spent three years at Stanford pursuing a doctorate in history; she failed to write her dissertation (on the Brazilian Bar Association under authoritarianism; can you blame her?) and left with a Masters. She applied to the CIA, spent a year temping in Northern Virginia while the FBI asked inconvenient questions of everyone she had ever known, passed a polygraph test on her twenty-sixth birthday, and was immediately thrown into the Career Trainee program: Boot Camp for the Agency's Best and Brightest. Four years as an intelligence analyst at the CIA were profoundly fulfilling, the highlights being Francine's work on the Counter terrorism Center's investigation into the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and sleeping on a horsehair mattress in a Spectre-era casino in the middle of Bratislava.
Another peak moment was her chance to debrief ex-President George Bush in Houston in 1993. But what she remembers most about the place are the extraordinary intelligence and dedication of most of the staff – many of them women – many of whom cannot be named.
She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Fifteen books have followed, along with sundry children, dogs, and houses. When she's not writing, she likes to ski, garden, needlepoint, and buy art.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
December 3, 2020
Three and a half stars.
When a dog and two children find a skeleton in the dunes at Sconset beach, news travels fast through Nantucket. Is this dead woman another victim of the serial killer who has been active in Mainland Massachusetts? The FBI seems to think that is a distinct possibility and send detectives and heir forensic psychiatrist Dr Tucker Enright to the scene. But Police Detective Merry Folger has her own suspicions about the murderer. The more Merry investigates, the more she uncover links to various people on the island. Can she find the murderer before he strikes again and again? Could Merry herself be in danger?
I enjoyed this murder mystery even though I picked the murderer very early on and never wavered from it. But since that is often the case when Ii read these type of books, it didn’t really deter me from enjoying it. Though I had not read the first two books in the series, I quickly warmed to Merry. I liked the way the relationship between her and her love interest, Peter Mason is portrayed and we see her vulnerability. It took me a long while to read this book but that was not because it didn’t hold my interest. Just life getting in the way of reading time.
An interesting read with well- drawn characters and a great setting, especially events like Daffodil time and its effect on the community. I liked the way the strands of the case were woven together. Well, written if perhaps a tad obvious at times what was going on. Not perfect but still well worth reading. Great cover!
When a dog and two children find a skeleton in the dunes at Sconset beach, news travels fast through Nantucket. Is this dead woman another victim of the serial killer who has been active in Mainland Massachusetts? The FBI seems to think that is a distinct possibility and send detectives and heir forensic psychiatrist Dr Tucker Enright to the scene. But Police Detective Merry Folger has her own suspicions about the murderer. The more Merry investigates, the more she uncover links to various people on the island. Can she find the murderer before he strikes again and again? Could Merry herself be in danger?
I enjoyed this murder mystery even though I picked the murderer very early on and never wavered from it. But since that is often the case when Ii read these type of books, it didn’t really deter me from enjoying it. Though I had not read the first two books in the series, I quickly warmed to Merry. I liked the way the relationship between her and her love interest, Peter Mason is portrayed and we see her vulnerability. It took me a long while to read this book but that was not because it didn’t hold my interest. Just life getting in the way of reading time.
An interesting read with well- drawn characters and a great setting, especially events like Daffodil time and its effect on the community. I liked the way the strands of the case were woven together. Well, written if perhaps a tad obvious at times what was going on. Not perfect but still well worth reading. Great cover!
April 29, 2018
This was a really solid installment in the Merry Folger series. We see Merry developing more as a character, both on her own and as her relationship with Peter Mason deepens. And the mystery in this book was thrilling.
Things get started when 2 young children playing on a Nantucket beach dig up part of a human skeleton. The central mystery is a cold case and these can be tough to make exciting, as the typical cold case investigation involves going back over lots of old paperwork. First, the police must identify the victim (and there are several possibilities at first) and from there, figure out who killed this person, when was the skeleton actually left on the beach, etc... It's a puzzle that takes Merry into a close-knit and eccentric circle of artists on the island, and the case parades readers through many twists and turns.
The author does one thing with this mystery that I really appreciated as well. In many books I've read, solutions seem to come out of nowhere and the detective is the only one privy to the operative facts. In this book, the reader gets a fair shot at figuring things out, too. As the solution comes together, one of the first things I realized is that the important clues were all laid out in the story, so as a reader, I had just as much to work with as Merry did. In a way, that makes me appreciate her character (and the author's skill) even more.
Things get started when 2 young children playing on a Nantucket beach dig up part of a human skeleton. The central mystery is a cold case and these can be tough to make exciting, as the typical cold case investigation involves going back over lots of old paperwork. First, the police must identify the victim (and there are several possibilities at first) and from there, figure out who killed this person, when was the skeleton actually left on the beach, etc... It's a puzzle that takes Merry into a close-knit and eccentric circle of artists on the island, and the case parades readers through many twists and turns.
The author does one thing with this mystery that I really appreciated as well. In many books I've read, solutions seem to come out of nowhere and the detective is the only one privy to the operative facts. In this book, the reader gets a fair shot at figuring things out, too. As the solution comes together, one of the first things I realized is that the important clues were all laid out in the story, so as a reader, I had just as much to work with as Merry did. In a way, that makes me appreciate her character (and the author's skill) even more.
September 24, 2016
#3 in the Merry Folger series. Merry is hitting her professional stride as a detective on the Nantucket Island Police Department. The confidence that was budding in the earlier series entries is now in bloom. The same can not be said about her ability to commit to a permanent relationship with lover Peter Mason. Although Merry's family dates back to the 1670s on Nantucket, she is third generation law enforcement and Peter's family is of the landed gentry. The scenes with the children who discover the bones that start the case are extremely well done.
Merry Folger series - A dog that digs up a skeleton on a beach starts an investigation that reveals a series of homicides for Nantucket Police Detective Meredith Folger. Forensic psychiatrist Tucker Enright hopes to find a link to serial murders the state cops and FBI are jointly investigating. But the skeleton is that of Dr. Elizabeth Osborne, who vanished from Nantucket eight years earlier during an affair with sculptor Ian Markham, who also vanished. It was Markham's children and their dog, living on Nantucket with their embittered mother, Julia, who discovered the skeleton. Delving into the past, Merry instinctively suspects the dead woman's husband, Harvard law professor Jack Osborne. Then Enright links the shocking murder of a Nantucket schoolteacher, Roxanne Teasdale, to the serial killer. As the cases begin to mesh as it's learned that Roxanne was having an affair with Jack Osborne. Although Enright and FBI investigator Dana Stevens admonish Merry to distance herself from her work, her commitment to the victims is justified in a slam-bang finale.
Merry Folger series - A dog that digs up a skeleton on a beach starts an investigation that reveals a series of homicides for Nantucket Police Detective Meredith Folger. Forensic psychiatrist Tucker Enright hopes to find a link to serial murders the state cops and FBI are jointly investigating. But the skeleton is that of Dr. Elizabeth Osborne, who vanished from Nantucket eight years earlier during an affair with sculptor Ian Markham, who also vanished. It was Markham's children and their dog, living on Nantucket with their embittered mother, Julia, who discovered the skeleton. Delving into the past, Merry instinctively suspects the dead woman's husband, Harvard law professor Jack Osborne. Then Enright links the shocking murder of a Nantucket schoolteacher, Roxanne Teasdale, to the serial killer. As the cases begin to mesh as it's learned that Roxanne was having an affair with Jack Osborne. Although Enright and FBI investigator Dana Stevens admonish Merry to distance herself from her work, her commitment to the victims is justified in a slam-bang finale.
December 7, 2018
I am liking this series. Enjoyable characters and intriguing mysteries to solve.
August 16, 2025
When I started reading this, I didn’t realize it was part of a series with the main character. It didn’t impact the story too much, just some missing background on the characters mostly. It was a good read, kept you guessing until the end. But the very end was unsatisfying - leaving an opening for the next book, I suppose. Probably more of a 3 1/2 stars, rated up the solid storyline.
May 30, 2024
Really like this series. Can’t wait to read the next one
April 29, 2020
Another well-written murder mystery set primarily among both the art-lovers and the Harvard/Cambridge set of Nantucket.
This time, our favorite Island Detective, Merry Folger, is paired up with Harvard's Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Tucker Enright as they try and understand the mind of a serial killer. The killer apparently has dumped one of his victim's bones on Nantucket's shores, far away from his Boston stomping grounds.
Circumstances become even more dire when Merry receives a letter addressed to her from the killer. At this point, her father (and Police Chief), grandfather, and Peter Mason her boyfriend all want her to go off island, but Merry refuses to leave. There is a local family involved with small children who need her but most of all, she refuses to back down, no matter what.
Some foul language
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
This time, our favorite Island Detective, Merry Folger, is paired up with Harvard's Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Tucker Enright as they try and understand the mind of a serial killer. The killer apparently has dumped one of his victim's bones on Nantucket's shores, far away from his Boston stomping grounds.
Circumstances become even more dire when Merry receives a letter addressed to her from the killer. At this point, her father (and Police Chief), grandfather, and Peter Mason her boyfriend all want her to go off island, but Merry refuses to leave. There is a local family involved with small children who need her but most of all, she refuses to back down, no matter what.
Some foul language
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
March 25, 2012
I have to admit I had finished everything I took to read in Mexico and ended up in the game room where I found this book. I usually don't care for murder mysteries as I like to learn something useful when I invest time in a book and, of course, I don't really want to learn how to murder. I will say this one was very well written and kept my interest. I figured who was the murderer early on but could not figure out his motivation or how he did it. He just seemed a little creepy and did not fit in with what I was sure would be the conclusion. I probably won't be reading another murder mystery for a while but it was a nice diversion. There was not a boring page in the whole book.
September 26, 2019
I have been enjoying this series but almost didn't finish Death in Mood Indigo. Detective Folger's behavior was just downright wrong on so many levels - I could only hope she was really strongly disciplined before the next one. I found her so unpalatable and culpable for much of the evil that continued to happen in this novel that it was hard to read.
December 6, 2015
The reviewer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer 'dares you to guess the killer'. From reading other reviews, I find I'm not the only one who did. Enjoyed reading about Nantucket, but found the book, in general a little long and draggy. Not a BAAAD read, but not great, either.
July 29, 2017
Very good! I kinda suspected the bad guy early on but there really were no clues making me think that. Can't wait to start the next one!
August 8, 2017
Lots of Red Herrings and surprises in store, love the way she writes.
June 14, 2018
New mystery and author , looking forward to reading more of her book. Keeps you guessing!
February 11, 2023
I went back into this newly discovered series to grab a book from my public library's shelf, published in 1997, the third in the series, and was again, impressed by the writing, character development, and sense of place. Here, Merry Folger is a newly minted detective working for her father, Police Chief John Folger, part of a committed team, and trying to figure out her long term commitment to Peter Mason. The plot is multifaceted, involving the psychology of a serial killer, connecting the past to the present and involving the collaboration among local and state police, FBI, and experts from Harvard.
A police officer on Nantucket will surely know every victim, and the reader quickly understands Merry's compassion for all of them; her attention to justice goes beyond duty because for her, it is a combination of the personal and professional.
Knowing Nantucket, I enjoyed reading about the change of seasons, the isolation brought by winter, the difference between "off-islanders" and those whose families have lived there for generations, and was reminded of the disparity between the wealthy who own seasonal homes and those who have lived there all their lives, some struggling to survive financially.
Two children, Nan and Cecil, are part of an important story thread in the novel; the nuances of their lives, woven throughout, are compelling, their pain and their mother's sometimes difficult to witness. A years-old murder, a new murder, endless questions, unthinkable possibilities, all overseen by a smart detective who considers the victim first and always, the Merry Folger series has captured my interest.
A police officer on Nantucket will surely know every victim, and the reader quickly understands Merry's compassion for all of them; her attention to justice goes beyond duty because for her, it is a combination of the personal and professional.
Knowing Nantucket, I enjoyed reading about the change of seasons, the isolation brought by winter, the difference between "off-islanders" and those whose families have lived there for generations, and was reminded of the disparity between the wealthy who own seasonal homes and those who have lived there all their lives, some struggling to survive financially.
Two children, Nan and Cecil, are part of an important story thread in the novel; the nuances of their lives, woven throughout, are compelling, their pain and their mother's sometimes difficult to witness. A years-old murder, a new murder, endless questions, unthinkable possibilities, all overseen by a smart detective who considers the victim first and always, the Merry Folger series has captured my interest.
June 9, 2020
This series just continues to get better and better! Murder in a Mood Indigo is darker than the first two entries, but Meredith “Merry” Folger becomes more and more complex, and I’ve positively grown attached to her and the people who are important to her.
The book begins when two children and their dog discover bones on the beach—well, the dog, of course, discovers them first. It’s possible—possible—that the bones belong to a victim of a serial killer that has been terrorizing Massachusetts for several years, but Merry does not think so, no matter what the state police, the FBI, and a forensic psychiatrist seem to believe.
Full of local color—Daffodil Days sounds like a real treat for regular humans, if not the Nantucket police—and atmosphere, this book was fun and fascinating, although—as I said—dark. I have a few quibbles—I could swear it was May and then late April again; there’s a comment about someone reading Merry’s mind after she’s said something out loud; and the children’s dog, Satchmo, keeps disappearing from the plot, and I kept worrying that I’d missed something because there’s no mention of him being in scenes that he should be in—but these quibbles are small. And it’s still jarring to read the “Down East” vernacular from one of the characters, but I’m grateful that he doesn’t have too much to say.
Overall, though, I enjoyed this book immensely and—again—it’s all I can do to not pick up the next in the series immediately. I’m trying to pace myself, though; there just aren’t that many of them!
The book begins when two children and their dog discover bones on the beach—well, the dog, of course, discovers them first. It’s possible—possible—that the bones belong to a victim of a serial killer that has been terrorizing Massachusetts for several years, but Merry does not think so, no matter what the state police, the FBI, and a forensic psychiatrist seem to believe.
Full of local color—Daffodil Days sounds like a real treat for regular humans, if not the Nantucket police—and atmosphere, this book was fun and fascinating, although—as I said—dark. I have a few quibbles—I could swear it was May and then late April again; there’s a comment about someone reading Merry’s mind after she’s said something out loud; and the children’s dog, Satchmo, keeps disappearing from the plot, and I kept worrying that I’d missed something because there’s no mention of him being in scenes that he should be in—but these quibbles are small. And it’s still jarring to read the “Down East” vernacular from one of the characters, but I’m grateful that he doesn’t have too much to say.
Overall, though, I enjoyed this book immensely and—again—it’s all I can do to not pick up the next in the series immediately. I’m trying to pace myself, though; there just aren’t that many of them!
August 30, 2020
Matthews' third book opens with a scene where children are playing on the sands of the Sconset Beach. The town name 'Sconset' comes from the Algonquin "Siasconset - meaning a place of great bones.' Indeed bones are here. The children's dog has dug up some bones. The children continue to dig, uncovering a human skull. The reader now knows that what lies beneath a placid surface may be terrifying. Meanwhile on the mainland, a routine traffic stop leads to the arrest of a possible serial killer. The F.B.I. takes note of the Nantucket bones, and sends a team in to 'assist' read take over Merry's investigation.
Merry believes the remains might be tied to the disappearance of Dr. Elizabeth Osborne, the now cold case was a cause celebre eight years earlier when she and a noted artist (Ian) disappeared on the same night. Cecil and Nan, the youngsters who found the bones are Ian's son and daughter. They might as well be orphans as their mother, frozen in guilt and grief spends her days smoking while submerging herself taciturn unresponsiveness. The neglect has spread to their home as well. The sea is reclaiming the beach, many dwelling have already been lost, will their house be next?
Investigating the cold case, Merry finds the links between all the players in the past drama as well as in the present. Determined not to bungle the case, she discounts threatening letters, and ignores warnings. When two more women are found strangled, Merry is sure she knows the culprit. Does she? This taut thriller should probably not be read during a thunderstorm when you might loose power. This cat and mouse plot should not be interrupted for any reason.
Very highly recommended
Merry believes the remains might be tied to the disappearance of Dr. Elizabeth Osborne, the now cold case was a cause celebre eight years earlier when she and a noted artist (Ian) disappeared on the same night. Cecil and Nan, the youngsters who found the bones are Ian's son and daughter. They might as well be orphans as their mother, frozen in guilt and grief spends her days smoking while submerging herself taciturn unresponsiveness. The neglect has spread to their home as well. The sea is reclaiming the beach, many dwelling have already been lost, will their house be next?
Investigating the cold case, Merry finds the links between all the players in the past drama as well as in the present. Determined not to bungle the case, she discounts threatening letters, and ignores warnings. When two more women are found strangled, Merry is sure she knows the culprit. Does she? This taut thriller should probably not be read during a thunderstorm when you might loose power. This cat and mouse plot should not be interrupted for any reason.
Very highly recommended
May 16, 2022
“There’s something about the patient-analyst relationship, Meredith. It isn’t as linear as you think. A good analyst listens to the purpose 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 what it said. To what isn’t there, as well as what is. Truth is variable, you know. It’s partly the process of the telling that reveals the subject’s mind.”
The Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery series was recommended to me while shopping on the Cape multiple times. So I finally bit the bullet and bought one! I was a little disappointed that they didn’t have books 1 or 2 available, so I started with book 3, Death In A Mood Indigo.
Although this one worked great as a stand-alone, I believe from some of the dialogue that this series would be even better if started from the beginning. I loved the mystery surrounding a missing woman whose bones were dug up from the sand on a Nantucket beach.
I have been to Nantucket and felt like I was revisiting it with this story. The Sandy dunes. The quaint New England island atmosphere. And the murder mystery was quite complex with some great twists! This wasn’t just a cozy beach mystery. I can’t wait to read more by this author.
“You probably never saw Betsy – but she was beautiful in the way that only very intelligent women can be. Her features were always alive with some emotion, the force of thought. She compelled people to notice her.” ✨I absolutely adore this description of a woman being beautiful 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 of her mind. YES!
The Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery series was recommended to me while shopping on the Cape multiple times. So I finally bit the bullet and bought one! I was a little disappointed that they didn’t have books 1 or 2 available, so I started with book 3, Death In A Mood Indigo.
Although this one worked great as a stand-alone, I believe from some of the dialogue that this series would be even better if started from the beginning. I loved the mystery surrounding a missing woman whose bones were dug up from the sand on a Nantucket beach.
I have been to Nantucket and felt like I was revisiting it with this story. The Sandy dunes. The quaint New England island atmosphere. And the murder mystery was quite complex with some great twists! This wasn’t just a cozy beach mystery. I can’t wait to read more by this author.
“You probably never saw Betsy – but she was beautiful in the way that only very intelligent women can be. Her features were always alive with some emotion, the force of thought. She compelled people to notice her.” ✨I absolutely adore this description of a woman being beautiful 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 of her mind. YES!
October 12, 2020
When I picked this up, I was under the impression that I would be re-reading a book I had enjoyed several years ago. Well, I enjoyed it, but unless my memory is totally going, this was a first read for me.
I like this series because (a) Meredith Folger is a good heroine, a capable yet flawed individual who is always trying her best but sometimes gets trapped by her own emotions and expectations; (b) Mathews uses the setting on Nantucket well, creating a very specific sense of place that acts as a character, which I love; and (c) the puzzles are good - properly complex and multi-dimensional without being labyrinthine.
This one combines an old murder and a contemporary one, some interesting "off-islanders" along with the array of interesting locals, and a very well handled plot strand involving two children, which could easily have gone amiss. Putting children in jeopardy can become a cheap trick to manipulate a reader's emotions, but here it simply raises the stakes - and gives the kids chances to work through issues in their own lives.
So, well done! And I'll be reading more, even if I think I might have read them before!
I like this series because (a) Meredith Folger is a good heroine, a capable yet flawed individual who is always trying her best but sometimes gets trapped by her own emotions and expectations; (b) Mathews uses the setting on Nantucket well, creating a very specific sense of place that acts as a character, which I love; and (c) the puzzles are good - properly complex and multi-dimensional without being labyrinthine.
This one combines an old murder and a contemporary one, some interesting "off-islanders" along with the array of interesting locals, and a very well handled plot strand involving two children, which could easily have gone amiss. Putting children in jeopardy can become a cheap trick to manipulate a reader's emotions, but here it simply raises the stakes - and gives the kids chances to work through issues in their own lives.
So, well done! And I'll be reading more, even if I think I might have read them before!
March 30, 2023
This one takes place in the spring. "The scrub oak and pine, the humped shapes of rosebush and bramble, the low-running heather and beach plum, were all touched with the first gentle brush of green - a color so transparent and vivid, it seemed almost superimposed on the twisting stems. Every March, Merry found it hard to believe spring had ever existed, or could ever come again; and like a miracle, each May the colors stole over the moors and the gardens of town, sprang up in the marshes and the pines along the roadsides, as inevitable and quiet as the breath of Life itself." A bit later, the cranberry blooms "so reminiscent of a crane's dancing head". Only that would make me want to live on a spit of land in the middle of the howling Atlantic Ocean. Also liked finding out what a catslide roof is. I'm afraid I guessed the who, though not the why and how this time, and only got turned aside by a red herring briefly. Scary at the end.
December 11, 2020
Another interesting entry into the Merry Folger series.
I have printed out a map of the island to use as I read.
In this one some bones are uncovered which leads to an old death. The bones indicate that it was murder, not a natural death. First Merry must ID them and then she can look into their life to see who would want them dead.
This ties in with an FBI inquiry in nearby Boston, where a rapist/murderer is on the loose.
Merry does not want to lose her case to the FBI so she is not forthcoming about her suspects. This ultimately does not work out but by that time the FBI want a local on the team, so she is invited.
I enjoyed both the professional activity and the personal. Good to see Merry get her own apartment finally.
I own a copy of this third in the series.
I have printed out a map of the island to use as I read.
In this one some bones are uncovered which leads to an old death. The bones indicate that it was murder, not a natural death. First Merry must ID them and then she can look into their life to see who would want them dead.
This ties in with an FBI inquiry in nearby Boston, where a rapist/murderer is on the loose.
Merry does not want to lose her case to the FBI so she is not forthcoming about her suspects. This ultimately does not work out but by that time the FBI want a local on the team, so she is invited.
I enjoyed both the professional activity and the personal. Good to see Merry get her own apartment finally.
I own a copy of this third in the series.
January 13, 2025
Oops, this was exactly the wrong companion to "On Writing". It's almost nothing BUT adverbs and it WOULD be better without them! Unrelatedly, my library copy was livened up by another reader's penciled notes and corrections (one just said "silly"). I do think Mathews failed to play ball in one particular way: she's included a scene just to throw us off the scent, .
January 5, 2021
I really like the Nantucket setting in these books, but I HATE the speech pattern that the author gives the Medical Examiner in these books. I've lived in the area my whole life, and NO ONE speaks this way outside of someone caricaturing a "Maine accent."
And, I gave the 3 stars because I knew who the murderer was well before the detective; I'd hoped I was wrong, and was disappointed that I was right.
And, I gave the 3 stars because I knew who the murderer was well before the detective; I'd hoped I was wrong, and was disappointed that I was right.
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January 30, 2022Set on Nantucket Island, a skull and some bones are dug up on the bea. This sets Detective Merry Folger to work. The remains are about two to eight years old. However, this may not be an isolated incident. The FBI, following the trail of a serial killer, takes an interest in the Nantucket body. Then wo women on the island are found strangled and Merry becomes the target of threatening letters. The game is on! A page turning thriller.
April 13, 2023
3.5 stars. Two children playing on the beach with their dog uncover buried bones, bones that turn out to be human, thus setting off an investigation. First, though, the bones need to be identified, so the FBI are called in. One of their experts wonders if this murder was connected to a serial killer under investigation, changing the trajectory of the investigation. Very much a police procedural, with some segments that are a little tough to digest.
July 28, 2024
Should be 3.5 stars but I curved up because Merry is a well-developed character. Likable but still a bit flawed.
The murderer seemed pretty obvious from the first appearance, but the ending wasn’t as clearcut as I thought it would be. I’m glad that it wasn’t totally obvious even if I don’t know that it was entirely believable.
The author does create a strong sense of place and has well developed characters. It’s an enjoyable series.
The murderer seemed pretty obvious from the first appearance, but the ending wasn’t as clearcut as I thought it would be. I’m glad that it wasn’t totally obvious even if I don’t know that it was entirely believable.
The author does create a strong sense of place and has well developed characters. It’s an enjoyable series.
October 19, 2025
This is the third in Mathews' Nantucket crime series with detective Merry Folger. I like her resolve and underlying emotional connection to her town. The author's style of mixing the rich with the working class, building multiple suspects into a gripping plot, and a few clues to help solve the case are becoming more familiar to me. But, I still didn't guess who the real dangerous person on island was.
March 23, 2021
This is a darker book than the previous two, with less of the cozy personal relationships and more focus on a serial killer, someone who convicts serial killers, danger to children from abuse, neglect, and violence, and even danger for Merry. I liked it and the characters involved in the murder plot.
June 21, 2021
A dog accompanying two children playing on the beach digs up part of a skeleton. Merry sets to work to attempt to identify the bones. A forensic anthropologist does the identity work. The bones suggest that the person was murdered. Another murder occurs on Nantucket and the FBI believes it to be the work of a serial killer.
June 7, 2022
I love this series! Layered, interesting main characters, beautiful-wish-I-lived-there setting. I did however guess the killer before the ending. That does not spoil it for me to guess; maybe it makes it even more exciting to guess. This is the first mystery series that is helping me get through to the next Louise Penny book!
April 22, 2023
Bones are found on a beach, are they related to a serial killing streak? This one had far too many convenient coincidences and links. In addition, it is not always necessary to put the main character in a procedural mystery in mortal danger, but the author hasn't shown she knows that. The series is creeping towards negative ratings, the next one will tell for sure.
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