Murder in Mellingham

Mellingham #1

by Susan Oleksiw

The lovely coastal village of Mellingham is set on edge with the unexpected arrival of Beth O'Donnell. Dependent on her generous brother but uneasy with life outside New York City, Beth casts a jaundiced eye on everyone and anyone. At a cocktail party on her first night, she throws barbs at the other guests, singling out the most vulnerable, and eyes with interest anyone who seems able to stand up to her. When she is found dead the next day, Chief of Police Joe Silva finds himself investigating a well-loved family in a town where nothing untoward ever seems to happen. An outsider until he joined the police force a few years earlier, Chief Silva discovers much about his own place in this idyllic town, and several painful secrets among the townspeople. "Murder in Mellingham" introduces a new series exploring life in a New England village outside the orbit of a metropolitan area, a world defined by its eccentrics, philanthropists, and never ordinary citizens. With an insightful but humorous eye, author Susan Oleksiw reveals a world all but destroyed by suburban developments and shopping malls, a world as refreshing as a cool ocean breeze.

Genres: Mystery

328 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 1993

About the author

"People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading." Logan Pearsall Smith

I can't imagine a life without books. Some of my best memories of a quiet rainy afternoon when Dad let me poke among his books and pick something to read.

Born and raised in New England, I have long been fascinated by the traditional New Englander and the way of life found here. I try to capture that world in two of my series.

My most recent book, Below the Tree Line, is set on a farm in central Massachusetts. Felicity O'Brien has inherited the family farm, but she has also inherited, from her mother and ancestors, the ability to heal. This is both a blessing and a burden.

My first mystery series features Chief of Police Joe Silva, in the town of Mellingham. The books in the series follow the ups and downs of people in the town but also the changes in Joe's life. He begins as a bachelor and in the most recent books is clearly a happy stepdad.

In the second series, my sleuth is an Indian-American photographer who lives at her aunt's tourist hotel on a popular beach. Raised in India, she has no desire to leave and follow her parents home to the States. She finds herself involved in all sorts of problems trying to keep her aunt's hotel solvent and out of trouble. Her aunt, for her part, despairs of ever turning Anita into a proper young Indian woman. The stories give me a chance to write about a country where I once lived and which I have loved since a child.

All three series are cozies, with fun as well as surprises.

Series:
* Joe Silva Mellingham
* Anita Ray

Reviews

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

#1 Police Chief Joe Silva, Mellingham, Massachusetts; cosy police procedural. Very good first-in-series about a small-town police chief in New England. A visiting relative (and an extremely nasty woman) of some local Big-Wigs gets herself murdered and pretty nearly everybody who's anybody in town might be the killer. Recommended for those who enjoy cosy police procedurals but don't like the kitsch-y cute type; this is neither as sweet nor as predictable as it sounds.

Police Chief Joe Silva finds life in quiet Mellingham to be very much to his liking, including the mainly routine, mostly boring cases. He had quite enough excitement in his previous life as a big-city cop, but doesn't back down when a nasty murder case comes his way. The sister of a local VIP gets herself rather messily murdered at the end of a big party, the guest list for which includes pretty much all the important folks in town. So Joe has his work cut out for him.

Cosy, but not too sweet, this somewhat basic/classic plot works well here. The setting is very nicely described, the characterizations are wonderful, and the pacing is quite good, albeit a bit slow-paced at times; some folks would simply consider the pace to be "leisurely". I enjoyed it very much, but I tend to prefer what are for me local stories (anything set in New England and/or the Canadian Maritimes I consider local... [grin]) so take that recommendation with a grain of salt.

Of its type (cosy police procedural, small-town edition) it's a very good first in series; I look forward to reading #2, DOUBLE TAKE, 1994.

[Tabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always like when a mystery lists the cast of characters at the beginning. It helps to keep track of all the suspects, especially when half the residents in town are possible culprits. I did find the pacing slow and that made it hard to get through. There were some repetitive descriptions, like describing the same hotel multiple times, and that didn't help with the pace. But the mystery and characters were interesting. I kept reading just to find out everyone's secrets.

[Kathleen Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read both of Susan Oleksiw's Anita Ray mysteries (Under the Eye of Kali An Anita Ray Mystery] and [[book:The Wrath of Shiva (Five Star Mystery Series)]]) I knew that the writing would be excellent so I was very much looking forward to trying her Mellingham Mystery series. Unlike the Ray stories which are set in India, these are set in the quaint and somewhat old-fashioned town of Mellingham on the Massachusetts coast. The story is told in the traditional style of the "cozy" mystery--no blood, no gore, no cheap thrills. Rather there is excellent character development, witty dialogue and a tale of murder that Chief of Police Joe Silva is determined to solve. Beth O'Donnell is not a very nice person. She lives in New York and only graces her brother and his family with her presence every other year but always in time to attend one her sister-in-law's parties. So it is no surprise when, after the party, she is discovered in the armchair in her cottage quite dead. As Chief Silva interviews each party guest he gets a fuller picture of a woman a lot of people might prefer to see dead.

The story telling is quiet, droll, and amusing in places. It reminded me a bit of Barbara Pym with its sly social commentary--or an episode of Murder She Wrote. If you like intelligently written whodunnits with a homey ambiance, you'll love this story.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I did like Joe Silva, he seemed to be one of a large cast of characters and a member of the minority in Mellingham - that is, those who are not dysfunctional. I found most of the characters annoying, to be honest. Their conversations were vague, as if the people having them were not even in the same room with each other.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author never explores below the surface, the feelings, motivations, the reasons for anything.

[Betsy Panayides · Rating 2 out of 5]

A first book by an author who is coming to speak at our library this fall. A lot of repetition that didn't add to the solving of the mystery. Will be interesting to hear the author.