Hard Aground by Brendan DuBois

First Sentence:  From the vantage point of my bed, I looked out the near window to a cluster of rocks and boulders, which had been tossed and turned over the years by storms and long-ago glaciers.

      

Recovering from surgery, magazine journalist Lewis Cole is housebound and in pain.  When a couple shows up on his doorstep wanting to tour the inside of his home for its historical significance, it is initially annoying, but their persistent visits escalate.  Cole believes he hears someone in his house at night but can’t find evidence of it during the day. Is it related to the couple?  Lewis’ friend Felix Tinios had taken a silver bowl to Maggie Tyler Branch, a descendant of the town’s founder, for her to appraise.  When Maggie is murdered and the bowl missing, Felix is committed to finding both his bowl and the killer.

      

Dubois’ opening is twinge-worthy.  It is also informative.  The author does a nice job of introducing the protagonist and providing new readers with his background as well as reminding series readers as to why he is in his present situation.  Felix is one of those wonderful characters you’re almost glad isn’t the primary protagonist as that would remove some of the mystique about him.  He is also someone one would be glad to have as a friend, particularly if he’d cook for you—“Dinner is fettuccini Alfredo with lobster and salad…,” and would never want as an enemy. 

      

Dubois does write characters who are interesting and believable.  The women are smart, strong, and very capable; journalist Paula Woods, Cole’s lover, and Det. Sgt. Diane Woods who is about to marry her partner, Kara, are women one would want to know.

      

There are delightful touches of humor—“Fortune sometimes favors the brave, the lucky, and those too dumb to know what they have.”—but also moments which touch your emotions—“Alice moved in with a niece over in Worcester…and got Alzheimer’s, that nasty bitch of a disease.  Suffered with that for years, and died two years back.  By then, it was a mercy.” Lewis has experienced his own tragedy.  Anyone who has lost someone they truly loved can associate with Lewis.    

      

Dubois’ writing captures people, places, and emotions well.  There is one very effective scene which serves to remind us that everyone is a human, and everyone has their own story and problems.  On the negative side, there are also some really annoying portents.  The third, which is late in the book, is not only completely unnecessary—after all, it’s not as though one wouldn’t keep reading at this point—but it vastly diminished the suspense of what was to follow.  On the plus side, there is also very good, escalating suspense.

      

“Hard Aground” with a protagonist unable to leave his house is clever and engrossing.  There are twists, suspense, a wonderful rescue, and an all-around excellent ending. 

HARD AGROUND (Unl Invest–Lewis Cole–Maine–Contemp) – VG+

      DuBois, Brendan – 11^th in series

      Pegasis Crime – April 2018