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CURRENTLY IN BOOKS
Mystery novels from a Christian perspective

Susan Brandt


Margaret’s Peace,
Island of Refuge and
Katheryn’s Secret

Linda Hall

Oregon: Multnomah Publishers. 1998, 1999, 2000.

Linda Hall has come a long way in her writing since the publication of her first novel, August Gamble, in 1995. She writes in a genre not often attempted by Christian fiction writers – the murder mystery. August Gamble was a typical Christian novel with overt Christian conversations, etc. Her latest three, Margaret’s Peace, Island of Refuge and Katheryn’s Secret are definitely not typical. Hall has written these three novels as a Christian novelist, but not as Christian novels. And they are much stronger for it.

Although a Canadian, Hall has set all three stories in Maine. In Margaret’s Peace, Margaret Collinwood returns to her childhood home in Maine from her current home in New Brunswick. She is mourning the death of her daughter and the seeming subsequent breakup of her marriage, and is now trying to find peace in the past. What she does find, however, are childhood memories of the death of her sister and ghostly legends surrounding her historic house. These help her find the truth of the past and the peace of the present.

Island of Refuge is the scene of the murder of a young woman named Jo, a friend of Peter Glass. Peter has come to this island for refuge after being accused of killing someone in his home city of Edmonton. The inhabitants of this island seem almost like throwbacks to the hippie era, but among them, Peter finds both friends and foes, and eventually the peace that he craves.

Sharon Colebrook, in Katheryn’s Secret, is a mystery writer living in Victoria. When her aunt dies in Maine, she and her estranged brother are the sole heirs. Sharon goes to Maine to look after the estate, and finds more than she is looking for.

All three books thoroughly develop their characters, and their plots are well designed and believable. The dialogue flows naturally and is not stilted. Hall pays close attention to detail. The stories are suspenseful and compelling, and in the end all point to a God who loves us and desires a relationship with us. Hall lives in New Brunswick where she has worked as a newspaper writer and taught English at the college level.

Susan Brandt is managing editor of Mennonite Brethren Herald.

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Last modified June 27, 2000.

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