"Excellent mystery"
In 1988 Minnesota, Matthew Lindstrom receives the call from
a Wyoming sheriff that the car of his estranged wife Gwen
has been found in Sweetwater County. Apparently,
bloodstains are on the vehicle. No body is found and the
case goes cold, but Matthew's neighbors, family, friends,
and peers at the college he teaches at believe he killed
Gwen rather than accept a divorce. He is treated as a
social pariah and eventually he loses his job. His once
serene life in Minnesota is over. Fourteen years later, Matthew lives somewhat like a hermit
but is relatively contented in Port Regis, British
Columbia, where he owns the charter boat Queen Charlotte.
One night he receives an anonymous phone call that an
Ardis Coleman, living in Cyanide Wells, California, is
Gwen. Still needing closure by obtaining answers to why
she left, especially since the caller insisted she knew
what she did to him. Motivated by revenge, Matthew decides
to travel south to confront her. Instead of the
confrontation, Matt finds his ex vanishes again leaving
blood in the home she resided in with her lesbian lover
newspaper editor Carly McGuire. She has taken her daughter
with her. Matt and Carly join forces seeking the missing
Gwen-Ardis. CYANIDE WELLS is an exciting character driven mystery that
the fans of Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone tales will
enjoy. The story line is loaded with action though things
seem to come too easily to Matt, who along with Carly seem
real as they struggle with the duplicity of the woman they
loved. However, what hooks the audience is trying to
understand Gwen-Ardis, which means reading the novel in one
delightful sitting. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted July 24, 2003
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