Customer Reviews

Resurrection Road: A Bay Tanner Mystery (Bay Tanner Mysteries)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lydia (Bay) Tanner's life has been a recent nightmare. Her husband Rob died violently and Bay experienced a summer of treachery and deceit that resulted in the death of a man with whom she had been close to at one time. And to keep herself and those she loves safe, she's dabbling in blackmail.

Just when Bay believes her life is settling into a reasonable facsimile of normalcy, Cart Anderson, son of Geoffrey Anderson (the man who died during the summer of treachery) confronts Bay about the death of his father. Bay and Alain Darnay (Bay's French romantic interest and an Interpol agent) have questions of their own for Cart. After they question him, he disappears. When Cart's car is found on St. Helena Island with blood inside, Bay and Alain are looking good for his murderer. And Bay's family connections (her father is a retired Judge) mean nothing.

Bay and Alain begin searching for answers to Cart's disappearance just as another murder takes place. Minnie Maude Bleeker is killed shortly after Bay and Alain visit her cabin with questions about Cart and the St. Helena fort.

When Alain 'takes a powder,' Bay asks her former investigative partner, Erik Whiteside and Gabby Henson, a local reporter, for help. The plot that begins unraveling could mean serious trouble for Bay, so serious, it could get her sent to prison or worse yet, killed.

Kathryn R. Wall's Resurrection Road is a fast-paced, thrilling ride into the life and personalities of its South Carolina residents. The tension is as heavy as the thick, muggy summer Hilton Head heat and the excitement is one continuous roller coaster ride. I haven't read any of Wall's previous works but I will. I am definitely a new fan.

This is the first book that I read in this series, and the first book by this author.
She writes about the Hilton Head/Beaufort area of South Carolina-the low country.
The book starts out with a missing person. As the book goes on, so does the body count. Lots of surprises.
I probably would have enjoyed this book more, if I read some of the previous books in this series, since there are a lot of reocurring characters and references to other story lines that were not fully explained. This book is a very quick read, perfect for a plane.

Bay Tanner is a likable, struggling contemporary who gives herself fully to her work. Family relationships and solving crimes fill her life. The characters are real, the situations believable, the plot twists and turns with a surprising outcome. I am looking forward to following Bay into more cases and watching her relationship with her irritating, but sensitive brother-in-law develop. The overall glimpse into southern legend and colloquialisms of the Carolina Bay area adds spice to these adventure tales. Great writing, Ms Wall!

I did NOT like this book at all. Talk about stereotypes up the wazoo. Bay comes from Southern charm, grace, money, and let us not forget the black Mammy!! Please, a drug lord named "Hermano" I am Hispanic, and found the book insulting and not well researched. The only thing I enjoyed was the description of the mansions. Believe me when I tell you that I wanted Bay Tanner to go away. Every man desires her!! Please, I should have read a comic book.

This is a very good book by an author who isn't generally well known. Her whole Bay Tanner series is very well written and a good read.

Great reading! I enjoyed following Bay Tanner's new adventure - some familiar old faces reappeared and interesting new characters found their way into Bay's life. Lots of great descriptions of this beautiful part of the country made the story come alive, and the ending was a real surprise! A must-read for any Bay Tanner fan - also perfect for anyone who likes a good mystery.

On Hilton Head Island, "Inquirey' Agent" Bay Tanner and her lover Interpol Operative Alain Darnay notice a car is following them. Darnay maneuvers it so they catch the teen and rough him up a little before bringing him to Bay's house to see why Cart Anderson was following them. They tell them he wants to know why Bay killed his father. Although Bay did not murder his dad, he was involved in a criminal scheme that went bad and he died in an accident.

After they let Cart go, he fails to appear at his grandmother's house and soon a missing person's report is filed. When Cart's car is found near Fort Fremont on Land's End, they visit the area and are welcomed by Minnie Maude Bleaker, the only person who lives in the isolated area. She hints that she knows what is going on, but is found dead on her living room floor before she talks. Bay and Alain become the prime suspects in her death and Cart's disappearance. Trying to find out who is behind the effort to frame them almost costs Bay her life.

RESURRECTION ROAD gives the reader a taste of what it is like living in the modern day (with especially the mint julep crowd) good ol' boy network and the migration of the Northerners. This is an excellent who-done-it with a real puzzle trying to figure out who was trying to frame the heroine and why. There are many viable suspects, including a police officer from the North so readers will find the story line totally fascinating. Kathryn R. Wall is a talented writer who is becoming a bright star in the mystery horizon.

Harriet Klausner

didn't hold my attention all that well. The plot involves a conspiracy to make it appear that Hilton Head woman-of-leisure/sometime detective Bay Tanner and/or her French boyfriend have killed someone. Can Bay discover the real killer before she is arrested and convicted? The problem was, I found myself not liking Bay enough to care.

I think part of the problem was the lead character, Bay, who was just too upper-class and idle for me to empathize with. Bay lives in a lovely house on the beach at Hilton Head and has no visible means of support. Bay is the daughter of a judge from an old Southern family (he lives in a mansion) who has had a stroke and is being cared for by a faithful housekeeper (Black, of course). Bay occupies her time with her French boyfriend, her Thunderbird, and going for runs on the beach. She also has a money-losing business that she plays at from time to time (private investigation). She allows the servant to care for her father while she limits her involvement in his care to showing up for meals from time to time so the housekeeper can feed her. I got way tired of hearing about Bay's Thunderbird, unloved childhood, smoking habits, etc.

A recurrent theme in this book is the defense of the Low Country (South Carolina) power structure -- It made me fairly uncomfortable, particularly with all the complaints about Yankees not understanding how well it all works for everyone. An impoverished old Gullah woman is nonetheless friendly towards Bay, who, although she lives close by, hasn't visited her in many years.

Since so many other reviewers loved this book, you may too, but be warned: you may not like Bay any more than I did.