Synopses & Reviews
Towering live oaks guard old secrets and powerful forces that even the spirited Bay Tanner can't control. . . . A freak summer storm has Bay Tanner, sometime private investigator, cooped up with her ailing father at his antebellum mansion near Hilton Head. Desperate for a distraction, Bay recovers a cooler bobbing along on the incoming tide. What she discovers inside will plunge her into a world of ancient magic where the power of the "root" has held sway since the days of the slave row. Suddenly, mysterious people and strange incidents, including a near-fatal accident, force her to realize that she may have unleashed something she can neither understand nor escape.
Meanwhile, her investigation into the simple case of a runaway wife turns deadly. The police are eager to nail the wealthy, prominent husband for murder, but Bay's instincts tell her there's more to the story. Sheriff's Sergeant Red Tanner, her late husband's brother, warns her off the case, but Bay's never been good at taking orders. Soon she's working full-time to defend her client, who may not be as innocent as Bay would like to believe.
Time and again, every trail leads back to a mystical commune in the tangled backwoods of Beaufort County and to one of its leaders, a charismatic woman who believes in the real and malevolent power of the old ways. To find a killer, Bay must travel to the heart of this woman's world--and not everyone will escape the spell of Sanctuary Hill.
Review
"Wall once again delivers credible characters, a gripping plot and pitch-perfect local color."
--Publishers Weekly
"Bay is a woman of character, always providing a rousing adventure while showing her softer side."
--Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Praise for the Novels of Kathryn R. Wall
Bishop's Reach
"Oozing with Southern charm, this whodunit flows like hot molasses to a deliciously clever conclusion."
--Publishers Weekly
"Curling up with a new Bay Tanner book feels just as it should--like settling in for tea with an interesting old friend, always familiar, yet always surprising."
--LowCountry Weekly
Resurrection Road
"Wall writes confidently and with a marvelous eye for local color, making South Carolina seem different from almost any place else in America."
--The Plain Dealer
"Wall has succeeded in creating what every mystery writer must dream of--a complex, utterly likable protagonist whom readers want to spend time with again and again."
--LowCountry Weekly
Judas Island
"Surprisingly tough and action-packed."
--The Chicago Tribune
"More than a mystery, Judas Island probes the dark niches of Southern society, its proud traditions of grace and hospitality clashing with a history of racism and a good ol' boy system of power. A pitcher of cool tea, a comfortable chair on the porch, and a copy of Judas Island make a hard-to-beat recipe for a delightful summer afternoon in the Lowcountry."
--The Beaufort [South Carolina] Gazette
About the Author
Kathryn R. Wall practiced accounting for twenty-five years in Ohio before retiring with her husband to Hilton Head, South Carolina.