Customer Reviews

Figure Away (Asey Mayo Cape Cod Mystery)

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Book was in condition as described by seller and was packaged very well. In addition it arrived on time as promised!

Cape Cod handyman and sometime sleuth Asey Mayo has a ton of relatives living out there in Barnstable County. One of them is his cousin Weston Mayhew, who is a selectman for the town of Billingsgate. The tiny coastal town is preparing for its first-ever Old Home Week, and Weston is scared. He's afraid something is going to happen to ruin the celebration and thus, ruin the town. This festival must be successful in order to put some much-needed funds into the settlement's coffers. Weston has already gotten reports that someone is sabotaging aspects of the proceedings. He wants to hire Asey to put a stop to that activity and to insure that nothing else will go wrong. Asey reluctantly agrees to get involved. After all, Weston is his cousin.

But of course, the worst DOES happen. Mary Randall, who runs the antiques store out in Hell Hollow, is shot as she sits at a window in her home during the opening fireworks ceremony. Asey recommends that the authorities keep the murder a secret for a while. That way, the news won't interfere with the town festival, and he and the local police can investigate the situation behind the scenes. Between the residents and the tourists, there's no dearth of credible suspects. "[D]on't lose sight of the fact that you're not just copin' with natives here. You've got a good many outlanders, an' some of 'em are goin' to act outlandish," says Asey. And one of the attractions in that hollow is the arrangement of four life-sized and dressed cloth manikins standing in front of the antiques store. Or are there *three* figures there? One seems to have developed dropsy. It's often found lying on the ground.

As is Asey's custom, he finds a savvy woman to confide in and to help puzzle out the situation. This time it's Kay Thayer, a young red-haired reporter from Boston. She vows not to submit the murder story until the end of the celebration. Asey's playful humor surfaces on these pages. Even if readers don't get all of the 1930s references, they'll come across some laugh-out-loud lines here. "Figure Away" is one of the most engaging episodes in this series.

[A note to the PC police: Just in passing, some of the characters make a few derisive remarks about a "Spig." Remember that this book was written in the 1930s and is set in that time period. Don't approach the seemingly callous attitudes of the characters by imposing 21st-century expectations.]

Ms. Taylor prefaces this book by letting readers know that Billingsgate Island is now under Cape Cod Bay, and that no town currently exists by that name. What a shame! It would have made an interesting place to visit.