Fair Haven
Author: Laury A. Egan
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Orientation: Lesbian
Pairing: MF / FF
Identity: Cisgender
Sexual content: Light to moderate
Trigger Warnings: Alcohol abuse, smoking, violence in one scene: electrocution
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-915905-14-7
Fair Haven: A picturesque riverside town. A safe, serene, friendly place. And then, one sunny summer afternoon in 1994, Sally Ann Shaffer is electrocuted in her hot tub. Who did it? One of her many lovers? Her husband? A thief? A jealous colleague at her tennis club? Fair Haven is suddenly embroiled in suspicion, interpersonal conflict, blackmail, financial fraud, and murder.
Fair Haven shares sympathies with the British crime drama, Midsomer Murders, because of its small-town setting and its diverse cast, any of whom could be the killer (except Cagney, the beagle, who leavens the plot). The primary characters include Chris Clarke, who is hired to photograph the crime scene and is involved with Kate Morgan, a woman fighting for custody of her son (Kate has a past history with Sally Ann Shaffer); the police chief, Ray Mackie, an experienced cop who must step aside in the homicide investigation in favor of Vincent Rivera, his nephew (Rivera reports to the Major Crimes Bureau and the county prosecutor’s office). Other important players are Fair Haven’s detective, David DeMarco, who is coordinating the local police effort; Harry Fallon, Kate Morgan’s drunken ex-husband and a long-time lover of Sally Ann; and R.J. Baines, a realtor who is hiding her lesbianism and her affair with the deceased. The relationships between these characters, as well as with a tennis pro, husband, priest, and a financial fraudster), provide rich opportunities for intrigue and moments of quiet humor.
“When is a murder mystery more than a who-done-it? Answer: When it is written by Laury Egan. This wonderful mystery kept me entranced, as her characters drug me around the town of Fair Haven and through their interwoven lives. In an ever more complex web of intrigue, jealousy, hatred and lust the plot was revealed. Though its difficult to write a review of a murder mystery without giving away too much, I couldn't figure it out, even with some well-placed clues, until the end and then I was amazed by the reveal. You will be too.”
—CA Farlow, author of The Paris Contagion
“The pace never lagged, and I was as invested in the character dramas as I was in the murder mystery itself. Which is great, given how much the story is really about those people and their community and their ties to one another…a delightfully messy tangle of motives and reasonable suspects. Classic murder mystery shenanigans. Fair Haven [is] a very worthy entry in the genre.”
—Jennica Dotson, author of “A Reaper’s Folly”