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A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #4
Death in a Cold Hard Light
Merry Folger is more than ready for a romantic vacation with her fiancé Peter when fate--and her police chief father--intervenes. Twenty-one-year-old Jay Santorski never should have drowned in the frigid waters off the Nantucket shore. What was the athlete, Harvard scholar, and part-time scalloper doing out alone in the storm-churned bay?
At her father's insistence--and over Peter's objections--Merry returns to the island to investigate, only to be confronted at every turn by false leads and dead ends. And Police Chief John Folger is behind too many of these roadblocks. For the first time, Merry begins to feel she cannot trust her lifelong role model--her own father....
At her father's insistence--and over Peter's objections--Merry returns to the island to investigate, only to be confronted at every turn by false leads and dead ends. And Police Chief John Folger is behind too many of these roadblocks. For the first time, Merry begins to feel she cannot trust her lifelong role model--her own father....
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
206 people are currently reading
302 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 56 reviews
October 24, 2022
My rating is for the 1998 edition that I picked up at our public library. As I understand it, Ms. Mathews rewrote her earlier stories including this one and I would suggest reading the latter publications.
As always, the suspense is good. The problem I had was
I'll continue with this series and hope for good things to come.
As always, the suspense is good. The problem I had was
I'll continue with this series and hope for good things to come.
October 16, 2021
I thought about Mary Higgins Clark almost the whole time I was reading this book.
- Set in New England, specifically a Cape- Check
- Presence of annoying wealthy folks- Check
- Protagonist who can JUST SENSE things without evidence- Check
- References to foods I have never heard of- Check
- Odd descriptions of some characters, e.g. one had "strong hips"- Check
- Presence of two completely different story lines that somehow magically meet up at the end- Check
Plus many more.
I also found the protagonist just unlikable. She was mean and rude to most of the people around her, and was pissy when her BF/finace/whatever, who SHE had left alone while on vacation, didn't call her- well you didn't call him either. So while the main story was interesting, it was hard to get into as much because the MC was so objectionable.
Also, why does the presence of books Chomsky, Tolstoy, and Foucault make this woman think someone is an anarchist? Sigh.
- Set in New England, specifically a Cape- Check
- Presence of annoying wealthy folks- Check
- Protagonist who can JUST SENSE things without evidence- Check
- References to foods I have never heard of- Check
- Odd descriptions of some characters, e.g. one had "strong hips"- Check
- Presence of two completely different story lines that somehow magically meet up at the end- Check
Plus many more.
I also found the protagonist just unlikable. She was mean and rude to most of the people around her, and was pissy when her BF/finace/whatever, who SHE had left alone while on vacation, didn't call her- well you didn't call him either. So while the main story was interesting, it was hard to get into as much because the MC was so objectionable.
Also, why does the presence of books Chomsky, Tolstoy, and Foucault make this woman think someone is an anarchist? Sigh.
Read
March 17, 2025DNF before page 100.
This was... fine. And that's the problem. It's fine. It's not gripping, not extraordinary. Merry's not a character I can connect to in any way. It doesn't help that I'm so over the tired my fiance's mother is horrible, my dad is toxic tropes. This isn't to say parents should uniformly be great and wonderful, but complicated and messy is an option instead of one-dimensionally ugly.
Also, that toxicity from Merry's father to her gets passed on by her to one of her coworkers and that was really hard to read and if I cared more, it would be one thing, but I didn't care about her more and so it was time to cut my losses.
This was... fine. And that's the problem. It's fine. It's not gripping, not extraordinary. Merry's not a character I can connect to in any way. It doesn't help that I'm so over the tired my fiance's mother is horrible, my dad is toxic tropes. This isn't to say parents should uniformly be great and wonderful, but complicated and messy is an option instead of one-dimensionally ugly.
Also, that toxicity from Merry's father to her gets passed on by her to one of her coworkers and that was really hard to read and if I cared more, it would be one thing, but I didn't care about her more and so it was time to cut my losses.
October 31, 2021
Another great book in this series and I look forward to the next two.
March 8, 2017
#4 in the Merry Folger series. This 1998 series entry looked to be the series finale until Death on Nantucket was announced for June, 2017 publication. The series is quite entertaining with protagonist Merry Folger a detective on the Nantucket, MA police force, where the chief is her father and his predecessor was her grandfather. Merry is introspective, worrying about living up to the expectations of her ancestors and her worthiness to marry into the aristocratic Mason family. She and the recurring characters are appealing and the view of life on Nantucket for a native, on season and off, holds the reader's interest.
Merry Folger series - Nantucket police detective Merry Folger is called back from vacation with her beloved Peter Mason by her police chief father to investigate the murder/drowning of young Jay Santorski, who has taken a break from his Harvard studies to wait tables and work as a part-time scalloped. Jay seems to have been too talented, too good to have died in the frigid winter waters, but needle marks on his arm indicate drug abuse. Matt Bailey, the Nantucket policeman whom Merry has never liked, is also missing, and Merry is unhappy with the way the case just cannot make sense
Merry Folger series - Nantucket police detective Merry Folger is called back from vacation with her beloved Peter Mason by her police chief father to investigate the murder/drowning of young Jay Santorski, who has taken a break from his Harvard studies to wait tables and work as a part-time scalloped. Jay seems to have been too talented, too good to have died in the frigid winter waters, but needle marks on his arm indicate drug abuse. Matt Bailey, the Nantucket policeman whom Merry has never liked, is also missing, and Merry is unhappy with the way the case just cannot make sense
May 5, 2020
Found this author from a book review published in The Washington Post. I'm reading my way through and on the wait list for the ebook of her newest title. I get a little irritated by the heroine's angst which I don't feel is properly explained and her love interest is a bit overwhelming but I'm enjoying the setting and the various plots of the books.
March 4, 2018
Nothing particularly irritating or troublesome about this book, but nothing about the characters or plot that caught my interest either.
June 23, 2020
Although I enjoyed this installment in the Merry Folger series, it was my least favorite so far. I am not a fan of drug culture, which is a recurring element of the story if not a prominent part of it. The occasional cozy moments are missing for the most part as well; although Merry does spend a little time with her grandfather Ralph Waldo, she is angry with her father and Peter is too rarely in the picture. And, believe me—Merry needs some cozy moments in this story: from beginning to end, it is rough. I don’t expect rainbows, kittens, and unicorns, but some let-up in the tension would have been a much-welcome break.
But the series continues to be well written and educational—we learn something about scallop fishing and marine biology in this book—and Merry and the other characters continue to evolve.
As with the last book, however, there are continuity issues; I thought I’d imagined these while reading Death in a Mood Indigo but made a note of the two that I noticed in this book. Early on, while Merry and Peter are visiting his family in Connecticut, he comes in from his morning run; they’re in the hallway, then Peter is sprawling on the bed while Merry talks to her father on the phone, and then Merry is magically leaning against the kitchen door frame during the same phone conversation. Much later on, Merry is walking into the policy station and there are several conversations with different people; three pages later, we read, “When she got to the station….” Huh?!!
But overall, I enjoyed the book. Merry is good company—while driven, she is also truly human with human flaws—and keeping up with her and the other people who populate the series is great fun; as with many series, reading these books is now like catching up with old friends—in this case, Ralph Waldo and John Folger, Peter, and Will Starbuck—and, as always, I look forward to the next installment.
But the series continues to be well written and educational—we learn something about scallop fishing and marine biology in this book—and Merry and the other characters continue to evolve.
As with the last book, however, there are continuity issues; I thought I’d imagined these while reading Death in a Mood Indigo but made a note of the two that I noticed in this book. Early on, while Merry and Peter are visiting his family in Connecticut, he comes in from his morning run; they’re in the hallway, then Peter is sprawling on the bed while Merry talks to her father on the phone, and then Merry is magically leaning against the kitchen door frame during the same phone conversation. Much later on, Merry is walking into the policy station and there are several conversations with different people; three pages later, we read, “When she got to the station….” Huh?!!
But overall, I enjoyed the book. Merry is good company—while driven, she is also truly human with human flaws—and keeping up with her and the other people who populate the series is great fun; as with many series, reading these books is now like catching up with old friends—in this case, Ralph Waldo and John Folger, Peter, and Will Starbuck—and, as always, I look forward to the next installment.
September 14, 2020
scalloping industry/1998 written/ bio engineering/ Peter being an asshole// merry's dad bigger asshole/ least likely suspect did it/
Death in a Cold Hard Light is often included in the 'cozy mystery' genre. It is anything but. Our sleuth in Merry Folger, a third generation law enforcement officer. She is one of the detectives with Nantucket's police department. Cozy's are usually set in small fictitious communities where hardships are not the norm. Not so with Nantucket. Mathews gives us a realistic setting. Nantucket in the off season is forbidding. In December, a person falling into the ocean can suffer from hypothermia within one hour. Even with protective clothing and gear, a person must be extra vigilant. Why then did Jay Santorski, who knew how to manage himself, drown? And why should Merry be the one to investigate?
The last question becomes the most important one. Merry was on vacation. Her first in many a moon. Her first where she would be in New York City with her fiance Peter. Why can't the other detective handle it? And for heaven's sake, why can't Peter realize that acting as a spoiled toddler only works when the person is a spoiled toddler? The more Merry investigates the more she realizes things are badly out of whack. There are too many evasive answers from her father. Too many bodies as well. A cozy mystery does not crank the suspense to where a reader is up all night. As I said not a cozy, just a darn good rural police procedural.
Recommended for mystery lovers of all ages
Death in a Cold Hard Light is often included in the 'cozy mystery' genre. It is anything but. Our sleuth in Merry Folger, a third generation law enforcement officer. She is one of the detectives with Nantucket's police department. Cozy's are usually set in small fictitious communities where hardships are not the norm. Not so with Nantucket. Mathews gives us a realistic setting. Nantucket in the off season is forbidding. In December, a person falling into the ocean can suffer from hypothermia within one hour. Even with protective clothing and gear, a person must be extra vigilant. Why then did Jay Santorski, who knew how to manage himself, drown? And why should Merry be the one to investigate?
The last question becomes the most important one. Merry was on vacation. Her first in many a moon. Her first where she would be in New York City with her fiance Peter. Why can't the other detective handle it? And for heaven's sake, why can't Peter realize that acting as a spoiled toddler only works when the person is a spoiled toddler? The more Merry investigates the more she realizes things are badly out of whack. There are too many evasive answers from her father. Too many bodies as well. A cozy mystery does not crank the suspense to where a reader is up all night. As I said not a cozy, just a darn good rural police procedural.
Recommended for mystery lovers of all ages
May 4, 2020
Another good Merry Folger Nantucket mystery. This novel had all the elements the previous ones did: excellent descriptions of life on the little island (although the way this author writes, one is convinced Nantucket is the size of England!), strong new characters as well as further development of storylines that carry over from book to book, and a murder mystery that could really only take place on Nantucket Island.
For all of this, there were so many red herrings, and problems between major characters, that I found it very difficult to follow the actual plot. While I appreciate that all relationships have struggles, this particular book had so many trailing vines (so to speak), that every time I picked it up I had to go back and re-read about four or five pages just to remind myself of what had happened and who was who, and why, and where, etc. It was rather convoluted.
Finally, compared to the first book, there is a notable increase in foul language that I personally find unnecessary. Again, the writing is top notch, and for an author of this caliber to continue to add this kind of thing to her work baffles me. Yes, I can see certain characters in these novels having more "colorful" speech, but not all of them, and not to the extent some of them go to.
I will continue to read these books because they are very good, I love the setting, and I enjoy this type of book. But I will also call out any author for needlessly using foul language.
RECOMMEND
For all of this, there were so many red herrings, and problems between major characters, that I found it very difficult to follow the actual plot. While I appreciate that all relationships have struggles, this particular book had so many trailing vines (so to speak), that every time I picked it up I had to go back and re-read about four or five pages just to remind myself of what had happened and who was who, and why, and where, etc. It was rather convoluted.
Finally, compared to the first book, there is a notable increase in foul language that I personally find unnecessary. Again, the writing is top notch, and for an author of this caliber to continue to add this kind of thing to her work baffles me. Yes, I can see certain characters in these novels having more "colorful" speech, but not all of them, and not to the extent some of them go to.
I will continue to read these books because they are very good, I love the setting, and I enjoy this type of book. But I will also call out any author for needlessly using foul language.
RECOMMEND
July 28, 2019
This book I found that Author very explicates in showing the relationships and how viewed the issues they face and the outcomes as well as the ingenious plot.
I love the areas the places the plot in, so diverse keen explanatory words and one really lives there,
References to greed and the destruction of the environment and how relates to the fish life and ultimately the food chain affecting jobs existing are no longer sustainable and how also the food is not going to be available unless the sea is sorted.
The very broad-reaching storyline in the murder plot. The author may know the area or has researched so well.
I love the areas the places the plot in, so diverse keen explanatory words and one really lives there,
References to greed and the destruction of the environment and how relates to the fish life and ultimately the food chain affecting jobs existing are no longer sustainable and how also the food is not going to be available unless the sea is sorted.
The very broad-reaching storyline in the murder plot. The author may know the area or has researched so well.
March 23, 2021
3.5 This is my favourite so far in the series. Scallops, their endangerment due to "brown tides," and bioengineering to save them are the heart of the this novel, which begins with Merry's father, Chief John Folger, re-calling her to the island from her uncomfortable vacation/visit with Peter's family to investigate the apparent drowning of a young man with fresh heroin track marks in his arm. She also learns that her coworker, Matt Bailey, is missing. Both Peter, who hasn't returned with Merry, and her father are behaving oddly, unsupportively, but Merry plunges ahead anyway with the tasks at hand.
May 26, 2023
The death of a young scalloper prompts Police Chief John Folger to recall Detective Meredith Folger from a well-earned vacation. But Merry is not just a detective, she is also the chief's daughter, and has long felt that she can never quite live up to his expectations. In addition, Merry's fiance, Peter Mason, is upset by her defection from their vacation. With these unresolved issues in the background, Merry throws herself into the investigation, especially since it seems to indicate the presence of a drug-dealer on the island. Engrossing, well-plotted mystery that contains interesting characters, making it hard to put down. Recommended.
August 16, 2021
Probably the best things about reading it, and the series in general, is being plunged into the everyday life of Nantucket (as opposed to the touristy playland most of us distant from it usually hear about.) Drug behavior, police procedures and problems between major characters take up much of the narrative and create some degree of tedium. Nonetheless, scalloping is just about the only maritime industry that remains sustainable, aside from the farming enterprises characteristic of salmon and oysters, and the details of doing it grant a real feel and a compelling read.
October 21, 2020
Gave it two stars because someone else might like this. Also because it's not the author's fault that the CD narrator makes the secondary characters sound like cartoon characters.
One star because there was too much conflict right from the first page - Mother-In-Law, Fiancee', Father, courtcase. Way too much stress and tensions and just bad feelings. And, on top of all this, a gritty hard drugs case. No thanks.
One star because there was too much conflict right from the first page - Mother-In-Law, Fiancee', Father, courtcase. Way too much stress and tensions and just bad feelings. And, on top of all this, a gritty hard drugs case. No thanks.
April 5, 2023
It was a bit unfair to hold back the details of Jay's toxicology report and cause of death.
Other than that complaint I enjoyed this fourth murder mystery in this series.
The characters are likeable (even when they are fighting) and the plot is plausible and nicely intricate.
Character development is proceeding, and this is a delightfully described part of the county I have not seen in person, but get a good feel for through Francine's stories.
I own a copy.
Other than that complaint I enjoyed this fourth murder mystery in this series.
The characters are likeable (even when they are fighting) and the plot is plausible and nicely intricate.
Character development is proceeding, and this is a delightfully described part of the county I have not seen in person, but get a good feel for through Francine's stories.
I own a copy.
July 2, 2018
Great series
I love this series. Ms . Matthews has a way of describing a region of the country that makes me want to pull up stakes & move to Nantucket. Her characters have a very believable quality to them. In addition, the mystery aspect is always well written . I look forward to many more Merry Folger installments.
I love this series. Ms . Matthews has a way of describing a region of the country that makes me want to pull up stakes & move to Nantucket. Her characters have a very believable quality to them. In addition, the mystery aspect is always well written . I look forward to many more Merry Folger installments.
February 28, 2021
Merry Folger is starting a vacation with her fiance' Peter and meeting his family when her father, the police chief in Nantucket, calls her back home to help solve the mystery as to why Jay Santorski, a healthy young man would drown.There are lots of twists and turns and involvements of youth and adults to add to the mystery. I did not expect who the killer was.
May 16, 2023
I never saw Nantucket in the winter, so this story told in a cold hard light was chilling with its wintry beaches and freezing waters and a murder scene: "As regular as a heartbeat, the powerful beam of the Sankaty light swept them all like a scythe". It provided an unusual view of John Folger, too - as a son - his sometime disapproval of Meredith echoing Ralph Waldo's disapproval of him here.
June 4, 2023
Settling in to my third or fourth book in this series I found relationships among the main characters splitting apart. This episode focuses on the Nantucket Christmas stroll and heroin. What a combination! Oh, and then there are murders as well. And allusions to Latino drug lords, slums, and tainted scallops and evil scientists.
Maybe I am just in denial.
Maybe I am just in denial.
June 27, 2017
This is the fourth book in the series and they just seem to get better and better. Merry is with Peter at his parents' home when her father, the police chief on Nantucket calls and asks her to return to investigate a young man's death who is found in the harbor.
Highly recommended!
Highly recommended!
August 14, 2018
I found this book harder to follow than the previous ones - I soon got to know all the female characters, but it took me a long way into the book before I could sort out all the young male characters. By the time I did, everything was getting very exciting.
August 23, 2018
Takes place in coastal New England. The police chief,s daughter is called in from vacation to look into a mysterious drowning. What should be simple becomes complicated and involves her dad the sheriff, local drug addicts and traffickers and a nearby marine research facility/scientist.
July 31, 2021
My favorite of the Detective Merry Folger series so far, this one, labeled the Toxin Murders, puts Merry in personal and professional turmoil. This story is densely packed with twists and turns keeping Merry on her toes as she also deals with stressful relationship issues in her personal life.
September 3, 2022
A hard crime mystery. No cozies here. Interesting father-daughter conflict, its resolution not entirely swallowed. Lots of extra adjectives in the author's repertoire. Good local color for Nantucket, stalwart locals with local accents. And, a cold-hearted woman at the heart of it all.
May 3, 2023
A nice, twisty one. A college kid working scallop boats is found dead, with needle marks on his arm. Was it heroin? Multiple lines come together, including Merry's relation with her dad. An excellent entry.
May 15, 2017
Love this series set on Nantucket!
August 8, 2017
A villain who is strongly motivated and people whose motives are much less clear, made for an interesting read. I enjoyed it.
November 25, 2018
I give this book 3 1/2 stars. I liked the characters very much but this plot was a bit wonky.
December 29, 2018
This is a great mystery series. The mysteries are interesting and challenging and the characters are easy to relate with and have the typical life complications that make them realistic.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews