A Dark Death by Alice Fitzpatrick | The Miramichi Reader

A Dark Death by Alice Fitzpatrick is the second in the Meredith Island Mystery series. Retired teacher Kate Galway finds herself unhappy with some of her life choices, and bitterly regrets not having completed her graduate studies to become an academic. At this stage of her life, she has returned to a small Welsh island where she knows everyone and where everyone knows everything that goes on. Friendships have been forged over many years and loyalties run deep. Two main events happen in short order: an archeological dig takes place bringing with it visitors to the island to work on the site; and a man posing as a psychic arrives to conduct séances with the dead.

A séance is held in an abandoned estate and key members of the community are invited to attend. During the séance, fairly innocuous messages are initially received from family members. The séance takes a bad turn, however, when shocking disclosures are made and the psychic deeply upsets and offends a number of individuals. At the same event, Imogen, the troubled local minister, is choked by an invisible attacker who leaves bruises on her throat. Meanwhile, the archeological dig team has its own crisis when the dead body of the purported psychic is discovered one morning, face down in the midst of their excavation, having been posed in some sort of ritualistic manner.

As the local police endeavour to solve the murder, a second person goes missing under ominous circumstances. Kate considers herself something of an amateur sleuth and inserts herself into the investigation in an attempt to be helpful. As the clues pile up, so do the red herrings, the twists and turns, and the surprise revelations. Many characters harbour secrets and are not who they appear to be.

This is a delightful cozy mystery filled with charming characters, including the aforementioned minister and psychic as well as a warring pair of divorced archaeologists, promiscuous students, a fraudulent psychic and a group of matchless locals. The suspect pool includes almost everyone on the island and unravelling all of the connections and back stories is utterly engaging. The writing is fast paced and quite lovely. The setting itself is both romantic and menacing.

There was no sandy beach – just a sheer drop down to where the cliff had been eroded and rocks had tumbled into the sea.  While islanders knew to be careful around the crumbling edge, overzealous tourists, eager to explore the island’s more remote spots, had to be warned to resist the temptation to look down at the churning water below.  The threat of being dashed on the rocks and then washed out to sea usually deterred all but the most foolhardy.

Fitzpatrick has injected poignant backstories for some of her characters, indicating the richness of her own life experiences. Human nature is revealed to be malevolent, angry, cunning, deceptive, vengeful, trusting, and hopeful. A couple of the characters struggle with very real personal crises and Fitzpatrick deals with these with the sensitivity and gravitas they deserve. Not everything is resolved when the book ends, and several matters are left unexplained for readers to ponder. What happens next for several of the characters is among the lingering questions.

A descriptive, well written, highly engaging, and successful cozy mystery. Highly recommended.

Read Sarah Butland’s review of the first book in the Meredith Island Mystery Series, Secrets in the Water, here!

Alice Fitzpatrick has contributed various short stories to literary magazines and anthologies and has recently retired from teaching in order to devote herself to writing full-time. She is a fearless champion of singing, cats, all things Welsh, and the Oxford comma. Her summers spent with her Welsh family in Pembrokeshire inspired the creation of Meredith Island. The traditional mystery appeals to her keen interest in psychology as she is intrigued by what makes seemingly ordinary people commit murder. Alice lives in Toronto but dreams of a cottage on the Welsh coast.

Publisher: Stonehouse Publishing (June 1, 2025)
Paperback 8″ x 5″ | 300 pages
ISBN: 9781988754628

Lucy E. M. Black

Website

Lucy E.M. Black (she/her/hers) is the author of The Marzipan Fruit Basket, Eleanor Courtown, Stella’s Carpet, The Brickworks and Class Lessons: Stories of Vulnerable Youth. A Quilting of Scars will be released October 2025. Her award-winning short stories have been published in Britain, Ireland, USA and Canada. She is a dynamic workshop presenter, experienced interviewer and freelance writer. She lives with her partner in the small lakeside town of Port Perry, Ontario, the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island, First Nations.