No relationship is so fraught with ambivalence as the one we have with our aging parents. Chief Joe Silva, second son in a large and loving family, finds himself drawn into a decades old drama when his ninety-year-old father brings the entire family together for one last reunion--to dispel a dark cloud that has hung over his family for decades. To do this the aging patriarch has had to persuade the two youngest children to return to the family after decades of silence and separation. Reluctantly, Joe travels with his partner, Gwen, and her daughter, Jennie, to join in the family gathering,...

The sharp sea air and the biting tongue of Beth O'Donnell invigorate the lovely coastal village of Mellingham. Younger sister of one of Mellingham's most prominent residents, Beth arrives uninvited, unexpected, and unwelcome every two years from New York City to renew her shaky relationship with her generous brother and to share her venomous view of life with anyone who will listen. Her current visit will be her last. Surrounded by her brother and sister-in-law's cocktail party guests, Beth insults anyone who catches her interest. She sends a dart to test the thickness of a young editor's...

Life seems to be just about perfect at the Massasoit College of Art in the picturesque village of Mellingham. Certainly things couldn't be much better for Preston H. Mattson, chairman of the painting department, as the students prepare for a show honoring his work. It hardly matters that Mattson's work is mediocre. As long as he can play the role of expert and get the students to do his bidding, Mattson is satisfied. But there are potential problems at Massasoit too. Work-study student Hank Vinnio is a surprisingly gifted artist. his talent may be enough to threaten Preston Mattson's sense of...

Beautiful Mellingham--it appears to be a safe haven on the New England coast where men, women, and children, old and young, can live in peace and harmony. But looks can deceive, as Chief of Police Joe Silva has discovered all too often in his long investigative career. When murder occurs at the Arbella House, the headquarters of the local historical society, Silva is probably the only one in town who is not surprised. He knows all too well that crime, even murder, can take place in the most genteel environment. He's worried, though, about at least one of the suspects, Gwen McDuffy, who...

Mellingham's police chief Joe Silva, "the likable protagonist of this polished series" (The New York Times Book Review), has his hands full when the Mellingham High School Class of 1969 holds their twenty-fifth reunion. Not every member of the class is looking forward to the gathering. Eliot Keogh is returning to his hometown to find the person responsible for sending his father to prison on a false charge. Becka Chase, on the reunion committee, is distracted because the husband of her best friend, Mindy, Vic Rabelard, is trying to revive their long-dead affair. She fears her husband will...

When Ron Faroli is put to rest in Mellingham, Chief of Police Joe Silva knows more trouble will follow. Soon after the funeral, one of Ron's friends is found dead after a fall from a third-floor window. Although Joe finds no evidence of foul play, he is reluctant to write off Miles Stine's death as a tragic accident. Swirling around the small Community Center are stories about the two dead men, their lives on and off drugs, and the small coterie of struggling addicts they called their friends. The death of two of their number threatens the little stability some of them have managed to hold on...

In the foothills of South India a man struggles to free himself from ropes tying him to an old bridge while the monsoon rages. In the valley below, Anita Ray and her aunt are stopped at a roadblock while the car and luggage are searched. The police offer no explanation, but a sharpshooter watching from a tree nearby hints at danger. When Anita and Meena arrive at their destination, they find Lalita Amma's household in turmoil. Lalita's daughter, Valli, has left her husband, and Lalita's son, Prakash, the priest at a nearby temple, has left his job temporarily. He is strangely silent about...

Deb Connolly drowns after falling overboard on an afternoon sail and her husband commits suicide two days later. Annie Beckwith is distraught over the loss of her sister and her sister's husband, and tries to get on with her life. Chief Joe Silva and the other authorities don't doubt the report of Deb's sailing partner, Cecily Harris, a woman known to be afraid of the water and unfamiliar with sailing. But a sharp eye at the marina where the sailboat has been dry-docked discovers evidence of tampering with a key piece of equipment, and the accidental death no longer seems so obvious. In the...