North of Boston, Elisabeth Elo
Blackstone Audio - 2014
Read By - Marguerite Gavin - very good
In this debut mystery/thriller, a reader would hardly expect
perfume industry and the fishing industry to surface in the same novel,
but it does and it works fairly well.
Pirio
Kasparov is an interesting protagonist who has been through a lot in her first 30 years of life. Her Russian father created a
perfume empire of sorts, her beautiful mother, a model, dies when
Pirio was just 10, and her father ships her off to one of the best boarding
schools money can buy. Her strict and highly cynical Russian father
follows the urging of his new wife that this was the best thing for his
young daughter. As an adult and now CEO of her father's perfume
empire, Pirio can expect to inherit a fortune someday, however, she
comes across as very down to earth.
Early on we learn that
Pirio was helping lobster man, Ned Rizzo on his fishing boat when his
boat was rammed in the fog by a freighter near Boston Harbor. A freighter that
appeared out of nowhere. Pirio manages to survive the frigid water for
hours, at temperatures where most people would have died of hypothermia,
but Ned is presumed drowned. He leaves a 10 year old son Noah, (Pirio's
godson) and his alcoholic wife Thomasina is a troubled woman who Pirio had met at boarding
school -- she was also sent away so that her wealthy parents
would not have to deal with her.
At first Pirio thinks the boat incident was an accident, but
then she's not so sure believing something bigger and more sinister may
have been at play. The more that is uncovered, the more it appears she is
right. Who is involved and why was Ned's boat targeted is at the heart
of the mystery.
I liked this debut mystery, but had a few issues
with it
as well. The writing is very good, great character development, and a
variety of interesting issues are covered -- international crime,
environmental issues, even touchier subjects like alcoholism, and
parental neglect. Overall, I found the story too slow paced for me. It
really took a while to get going and even when it did, I thought it
slowed again at times.
The audio version was read by Marguerite Gavin who did a very good job overall. Not perfect, but I do think that the author has positioned herself well for with this
debut for a continued series. I would be interested to
see what becomes of Pirio.
3.5/5 stars
I do like my mysteries to be fast paced but it sounds like the author has a lot of potential.
ReplyDeleteI've had this on my TBR list for awhile now, but haven't gotten to it yet! I'm definitely going to read it this year, though.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this review Diane, love a good mystery and wish this new author every success.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like something I like, even with its faults.
ReplyDeleteI think the audio version would be a good choice on this one.
ReplyDeleteIt does look interesting and it's always fun to discover a talented author at their debut :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your honest thoughts. It sounds like a terrific debut.
ReplyDeleteI liked this one. I didn't have a problem with the pacing although the story did jump around in a few different directions. Pirio is a great character - I'd like to see her return in another book.
ReplyDeleteThis is on my wishlist. A book about the perfume industry and fishing industry has me curious.
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