Mystery by Peter Straub: Solid Crime Novel of an Amateur Sleuth against Corruption on Mill Walk

Peter Straub is a slightly off the wall thriller writer. Kobo and Ghost Story are among my favourites. And Mystery doesn’t disappoint – one third of the Trilogy about the Blue Rose murders. This thriller could stand on its own.

Sleuth Mystery

A polished, if a little complex plot, Mystery is worth sticking with and remembering the numerous characters. The tale begins with young Tom who, after a near death accident that renders him in a wheelchair for months, takes an interest in the crimes of Mill Walk, a small Caribbean island where he lives.

But his grandfather, Glen doesn’t take to Tom’s pastime too warmly, and neither does other influential figures of the island, namely his doctor. But this doesn’t stop sleuth Tom, who collects paper clippings and interviews of the underdogs of the island.

He learns how Magnate family, the Redwings virtually own the island and keep the police force and officials in their pockets. Glen wastes no time in sending Tom to Eagle Lake on the mainland to get him out of the way.

But this doesn’t stop Tom’s snooping, and along with the enigmatic hermit, Von Heilitz uncovers further corruption on the island. Tom grows very unpopular with the Redwings, who also take vacations on Eagle Lake, (not least because of love interest’s Sarah’ preference for Tom rather than a betrothed to a Redwing).

Tom’s passion for Sarah felt a little too textbook to be convincing. Early in the story, when Tom’s lower body is swathed in plaster after his near-fatal traffic accident, he fears he had been castrated. For months, he lived with the secret fear. But didn’t react in the cathartic way I had expected when discovering he had not been castrated after all. This robotic behavior continues on-and-off throughout the story.

I grew fond of the downtrodden nurses and underdogs of Mill Walk who were incorruptible. The neighborhoods of the island created a sense of a imperfect yet colorful society that was at times alluring.