CANAAN’S GATE by Kathryn R Wall
It is hard to believe that CANAAN’S GATE is the tenth novel in the Bay Tanner series, but it is. Author Kathryn Wall has brought this character along through numerous adventures, romantic entanglements, and personal tragedies. Bay Tanner is a survivor and when this book starts she is alive and well and living in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
In the last book Bay lost her beloved father Judge Simpson. His death has greatly impacted her attitude about her life and the direction in which it is going. She has also discovered she has a half sister Julia who has emotional problems and requires some watchful attention by Bay. Then there is Lavinia, the woman who basically raised Bay and who was her father’s companion. She is still living in the family home and she also requires attention from Bay.
Bay’s biggest concern is her husband. She has married Red Tanner, the brother of her deceased husband. She did not enter the marriage sure if it was the right move but she did it anyway. Now Red has resigned from the police department where he worked and is working at Bay’s Investigative Agency. Bay is an independent type and does not adjust easily to her husband’s watchful eye.
The latest case her agency has taken is one involving a mousy bank teller. She tells Bay she thinks an older couple on the island is being bilked out of their savings. She is vague in her allegations and Bay does not take them too seriously until there is a mysterious death and the teller goes missing. This pushes Bay into full investigative mode. She plunges head first into the investigation with Red trying to hold her back at every turn.
The mystery part of the story is fun and exciting but the real pleasure in reading this series of books is in the characters. Wall knows Bay Tanner from A to Z and never lets her make a move that is not consistent with her basic instincts. For those who have read all of the Bay Tanner books the affection they feel for Bay is like the warmth they feel for a close friend. They know her and they admire her.
They also know her friends and acquaintances such as Erick, her partner at the Agency; Lavinia, the mother figure in her life; Red, her now marriage partner and her close friend for many years. These people are all a part of Bay’s world and when the reader enters it they become fascinating supporting players for Bay’s stories.
Each book by Wall stands on its own, but if the reader has read the previous stories then the reading experience is enriched. You get the complete picture with all the nuances and significances of past references.
For a good read by an inventive author pick up CANAAN’S GATE by Kathryn R Wall. It is an adventure in paradise – the paradise called Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
CANAAN’S GATE is published by Minotaur Books. It contains 366 pages and sells for $24.99.