Waterline

by Elizabeth Robertson Huntsinger

When a mysterious and fiery explosion takes the life of her estranged, adulterous husband, antiques dealer and Civil War reenactor Virginia Ross is unofficially blamed for murder. Living aboard and restoring her 1948 motor-yacht, Chaucer, she is hoping to fulfill her long-time dream of opening a shop specializing in maritime antiques. As she becomes friends with octogenarian customer, Miss Eugenia Allston, and romantically involved with the artist she contracts to paint the name on Chaucer's stern, Remy Ravenel , Virginia begins to uncover startling parallels between her husband's probable murder and a pair of decades-old unsolved mysteries—the disappearance of Miss Eugenia's half-sister Geneva McKenna during Hurricane Hazel of 1954, and the apparent murder of Geneva's gentleman friend aboard Geneva's boat, Cheshire, in 1949. Could the mysterious death of Virginia's husband be somehow linked to Geneva, who disappeared so long ago and happened to own a boat eerily similar to her own? Or are these events merely coincidental? Virginia finds herself fighting for her own life as she races against time to unscramble the pieces of the decades-old crimes, hoping they will lead her to answers.

284 pages, Paperback

First published September 22, 2014

About the author

Elizabeth Robertson Huntsinger might wish she lived in a past era were she not so happy in this century reenacting colonial pirate adventures and the Civil War with the Charlestowne Few and the Pee Dee Light Artillery. A native of Manning, SC, Elizabeth moved to the edge of the continent to study English at Coastal Carolina University. After graduation, she spent years living aboard her first Georgetown County home, her antique wooden boat anchored in Murrells Inlet. Now a full-time storyteller, Elizabeth also conducts Ghosts of Georgetown Lantern Tours (www.ghostsofgeorgetown.com) with the love of her life, Lee Huntsinger, with whom she has a daughter, Virginia Lee. Elizabeth is the author of three non-fiction books: Ghosts of Georgetown, More Ghosts of Georgetown, and Georgetown Mysteries and Legends. Waterline is her first mystery novel.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virginia Ross’ life has been turned upside down. Now living on her beloved Chaucer, she is determined to document all of her husband’s assets in order to have a fair divorce settlement. (It is the least she deserves after discovering his affair.) However, when she returns home to her boat she is greeted by the shocking news of her soon-to-be-ex’s death. Now under suspicion as a person of interest, Virginia must learn to balance out her new life with the help of her old friends. Along the way, she stumbles across some horrifying details that may connect her husband’s case to some unsolved mysteries. As she tries to make sense of everything, Virginia’s own life becomes hazardous and she must put her own safety, first.

Waterline gives readers of every genre something to appreciate. There’s the suspense with the murder plot, there’s the details of boat life, some romance, and even a feisty, adorable cat. Huntsinger weaves multiple incidents and storylines into one fascinating page turner. Readers who enjoy suspense stories, with a hint of romance will enjoy this book. The story seamlessly envelops the beautiful South Carolina coast and the rich history of its culture, in a contemporary mystery. Right from the start with the unique quotes that foreshadow Virginia’s twisted life, this book flows quickly. Readers will be swept up in the author’s passion about boats, South Carolina and historical reenactments.

Notes:
This review was written for Sasee Magazine.
This review was posted on the Ariesgrl Book Reviews website.

[Ann Macon-ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

i bought this when we visited Georgetown and finally got around to reading it. although a bit cliched at times, it certainly held my attention. i'm sure i was influenced by the locale since the places referenced are familiar to me, but i read this book in 5 days while visiting in MI where i was also busy doing lots of other things! i left this book for other members of the family to enjoy. it would certainly appeal to boat enthusiasts

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, want to let you know that I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you to both the author and Goodreads for offering such great books!

Next, this book just didn't grab my interest in the way I hoped to be entertained. The back blurb sounded really good, but Virginia Ross, the heroine, made me grit my teeth, couldn't decide if she was naive or just totally clueless. She lost her estranged, soon to be divorced, husband Gordon in a boat shed fire, and the shed happened to be located not far from the boat, Chaucer, on which she was living. The proximity of the shed to her current housing made her a suspect in the murder investigation. Luckily, she had been at Gordon's home photographing his gun collection at the time of his death. Since the pictures were date stamped, the detectives were unable to tie her to the murder.

She and her father were in the process of cleaning her boat and she was getting the name lettered on the stern as part of the upkeep. The painter she chose for the lettering turned out to be an old boyfriend, in fact, she had dropped him when Gordon came into her life.

Add in another murder from decades before, and the hunt for hidden treasure, a hurricane, wow!

The problem I had was that Virginia just didn't seem to trust her own feelings and judgement. She seemed to be easily distracted, and overlooked or just plain talked herself out of cautiousness when she knew better. I was almost ready to have her die because she just plain didn't seem to be smart enough to stay alive at times. Loved the premise of the book, but the heroine and the abrupt (to me) ending just didn't do it for me.

I realize all readers are entitled to their opinion, and I would definitely try another book by Ms. Huntsinger as this was not unreadable, but I would hope that the next protagonists would be a bit brighter.

[Rick Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this from Goodreads Giveaway............

All in all this is quite a good mystery/thriller. The edition I have had quite a few typos & errors, or I would have said 4-stars. Very readable.