A Deep Blue Farewell

by Sharon Duncan

Book Overview

Scotia MacKinnon's new client doesn't believe his sister's death was a freak accident. But with no body and no clues, authorities decide Tina Breckinridge, a sailing instructor, must have drowned.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451206770
• ISBN13: 9780451206770
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Engaging, entertaining, and made me search travel sites to plan a trip to the San Juan Islands

The detective-character in this series may be Scotia MacKinnon, a former cop who is now a private investigator, but the real star is the San Jan Islands, off the coast of Washington near Seattle and Vancouver. I had heard great things about these islands, but reading this book made me long to visit this lovely place. The story takes place primarily on San Juan Island, the home of Scotia MacKinnon. Scotia's an interesting detective -- she's a strong, independent woman who has been married at least twice and is currently widowed. She's dating a man who would be a real "catch" were it not for the man's clingy ex-wife and resentful daughter and their demands on his time. Scotia lives on her 38 foot sailboat and shares a cat with the people living in the adjacent boat. The story begins when a man walks into Scotia's shabby office and asks her to investigate the recent disappearance and presumed death of his sister Tina. Tina's sailboat was found adrift with no sign of her, but her brother (MJ) cannot believe his sister -- a highly skilled sailor -- would have fallen overboard, and she loved her son too much to ever commit suicide. That leaves a limited number of possibilities -- either she was murdered or kidnapped. Scotia doesn't expect that either of the latter two possibilities is the case. She thinks maybe Tina could have run away, however, particularly since it soon becomes clear that the teenage son was giving her serious problems and the marriage was not in great shape. She starts to get the idea that there is considerable opposition to her investigating Tina's disappearance, and that makes her even more determined. The last 50 pages are an adventure worthy of any action-movie, as Tina goes up against some scary people. My primary criticism of the book is the excessive number of characters. When I read another book in this series -- and I will -- I'll start taking notes, because the alternative is continually flipping back to find the spot where you learned who this person is. I mean, in the first 50 pages, about 30 or so characters are introduced, and it's difficult to keep track of them. Maybe a table in the front would have helped.. My other criticism would be some unnecessary story lines, which you thought would somehow be relevant but never really are (for example, a case she's working on in addition to this one...) I guess they're put in as red herrings? Anyway, lively reading that held my attention and kept me reading, and fairly well written. Scotia is a strong, independent woman who has been married at least twice and is currently widowed and dating a man who would be a real "catch" were it not for the man's clingy ex-wife and resentful daughter.

strong private detective tale

Former police office turned private detective Scotia Mackinnon lives and practices in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. The island's elected officials have allowed outdoor clothing manufacturer On The Edge to do a photo shoot at American Camp, a nature preserve. One of the people associated with the shoot M.J. Carlyle has hired Scotia to find out what happened to his sister, Tina Breckenridge an experienced sailor, who mysteriously disappeared in the San Juan archipelago.All her inquires come to naught. Soon Scotia's client is killed with the sheriff ruling it an accident. Tina's partner also meets with misfortune winding up in the hospital. While this is going on, Scotia receives anonymously threatening e-mails warning her to back off the case. The e-mails and the death of M.J. make the feisty detective need to find some answers no matter the cost to herself.Putting Scotia Mackinnon on the case is a sure fire guarantee that she will go the extra mile to see justice occurs. Sharon Duncan has created a clever and feisty protagonist who knows how to cope with a client but is sometimes at a loss with how to relate with her hippie mother and her college age daughter. The mystery comes from today's headlines making it believable and realistic, but mostly entertaining.Harriet Klausner