COVENANT HALL by Kathryn R Wall
Kathryn R Wall takes us to the low country of South Carolina once again in her new mystery COVENANT HALL. This is the latest in the series of stories featuring Bay Tanner, Private Investigator. Tanner and her adventures are wildly popular with readers and enjoy immense respect whenever they appear on the literary scene. COVENANT HALL is Wall at her best, and Tanner at her most adventurous, so it is a sure to please story.
The best way to enjoy a new Bay Tanner story is to be up to date on all her previous adventures. But if you have not been an avid fan of each and every Tanner book like I have, and you want to jump in at the end, you still will be able to get great enjoyment from the story. It just won’t be as complete as if you were totally up to date with the full series.
As this book opens, Bay is involved with her brother-in-law Red Tanner. This was a completely unexpected romance but after her husband was killed she began to rely more and more on his brother. This reliance eventually turned to love. Bay still has some hesitations but she and Red are moving forward in their relationship.
Bay’s latest case comes to her in the person of Joline Eastman. She asks Bay to help her find her two sisters. Her daughter Kimmie needs a bone marrow transplant immediately and she has not been able to find a suitable match. Joline’s family was estranged several years back so she doesn’t know where her two sisters are.
At the same time she takes this case, Bay’s adored father Judge Simpson is rushed to the hospital. Her father’s housekeeper and companion, Lavinia, begs Bay to do whatever it takes to keep her father alive. Bay however knows that her father’s wishes do not include any massive medical efforts to keep him breathing.
While he is in the hospital she goes home to find his will, as he has instructed her to do. When she finds it she has a terrific jolt as a dark family secret is alluded to in this document.
So while Bay searches for Joline’s sisters she is also looking for the pieces of a puzzle that involves her father and the activities of his younger days. The way it all comes together makes for one of Wall’s best stories yet.
Each page of COVENANT HALL is a new revelation about the character of Bay Tanner. In this book she gains even more depth and progress. She is still not a perfect daughter, friend or future wife but she is making progress in all three of those roles.
If you have the time, go back to the first Bay Tanner story, IN FOR A PENNY, and read all the way through to this latest book. If your time doesn’t allow for that, then just jump in to COVENANT HALL. You will still have a wonderful time.
COVENANT HALL is published by St Martin’s Press. It contains 320 pages and sells for $24.95.