When Rosita McGee helped Aurelia Escalante escape to Trouble Island in 1929, a Canadian island in Lake Erie, Aurelia thought it was as a friend. Now, in the winter of 1932, she’s still working as a maid for Rosita, with no hope of leaving. She plans to steal a boat, but just before she does, she sees the
Myra approaching. The flying flag indicates Rosita’s husband, gangster and bootlegger Eddie McGee, is on board. It’s late in the winter season, but Eddie is with an entourage of other gangsters, celebrities, and bodyguards. He demands that Rosita sell the island, but she refuses, saying she won’t sell to the man she blames for the death of her only son. When Aurelia takes her daily swim in the freezing lake waters, she finds Rosita’s body tied under a pier. Aurelia is determined to find the killer while trying to hold onto her own secret, that she killed her own gangster husband in 1929. But a winter storm traps everyone on Trouble Island where they all face accusations of murder.
VERDICT Short (a.k.a. “Ruby Vaughn Mysteries” author Jess Armstrong) masters the descriptions of the fierce winter lake in an atmospheric suspense novel of murder, gangsters, and desperation.
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