Perfidia

by D.Z. Church

On the last Saturday in August 1974, the DEA shows up on school teacher Olivia Lassister's front lawn in Bakersfield, CA. They claim her missing father, Del, was last seen retrieving the wave-battered body of his drug-running buddy from a rocky cove in Barbados. According to the DEA agents, the body is one of Olivia's cousin. But Olivia has no family. There has only ever been her and Del. Next thing Olivia knows, she's outrunning the DEA to Del's safe deposit box. Only to find a .45 caliber handgun, her birth certificate, an emerald and ruby necklace, a rusty key, and eighteen million in bearer bonds. Which leaves her questioning her identity. Maybe Olivia's gauzy memories of a mossy plantation and a blowzy old woman mean something? To add to Olivia’s turmoil. A couriered note from her father demands she bring the key to Barbados, and a glib Barbadian lawyer implies things aren't what they seem. So Olivia grabs the next flight to Barbados, landing in the middle of a tug of war between families over the future of a historic plantation, a hunt for rumored pirate booty, and a host of long-kept family secrets. Soon Olivia is neck-deep in cousins, bodies, and scoundrels. And they all see her as a threat. Can she save the day and survive?

263 pages, Hardcover

Published May 11, 2021

About the author

D.Z. Church served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam Era as a Division, Security and Public Affairs Officer. She has since been an award-winning Advertising Creative Director, and worked educational assessment, specifically the assessment of writing. Raised in the mid-West, she has lived in the Eastern, Southern and Western United States and Barbados. Along the way, she discovered that people aren't always as they seem, and that revenge is best served in a whopping good tale. The kind people like to read with a little history, some foul weather, an absorbing mystery, and a whole helping of suspense.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

So confusing!!! Too many characters and illegitimate
Children ... I honestly had no idea what was going on 50% through. It had potential

[Lauri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this one. The writing style is fine, but there were just too many characters that I couldn't keep straight and the romantic thread of the story just seemed frankly ridiculous to me. Not many of the characters seemed at all like genuine people and I ended up skimming large sections. I guess I would categorize this book as "silly."