Shudder Pulp

Charley Scott Mystery, #2

by

Vanessa Westermann

Complex plot with long-held secrets in an atmospheric Canadian cottage country setting.

Shudder Pulp is the second book in author Vanessa Westermann’s excellent Charley Scott Mystery series featuring artist Charley Scott, her family, and friends. It is set in Canada’s cottage country near Blue Heron Lake. As Charley is working on her art exhibit for the upcoming Halloween season, local financial manager Laura Bouchard, wet and disheveled, barges into the gallery and accuses her of trying to scare her to death and drown in the lake. Making little sense, claiming Charley and her art exhibit have awakened their local, mythical lake monster, she demands Charley to change the theme of her exhibit immediately before storming back out to her car and racing away. Only a few hours later, Laura’s body is found outside the office of the Blue Heron Lake Marina, her half-brother Roy’s business, a victim of the phenomenon known as dry drowning. But was her death initiated by accident or a physical attack like she had accused Charley of? 

Charley is a strong and smart protagonist, but she is still recuperating from the trauma she endured in the previous book. Although the official detective is Alex, who is Charley’s sister’s boyfriend, Charley is knee-deep in her own investigation, and, once again, her involvement almost gets her killed. Matt, Charley’s love interest, is a good backup but is distracted as he tries to regain his success with his chocolate creations. Meghan, Charley’s sister, keeps track of the case from all the angles she can, with the shared intent of getting the truth out in the open for all to see. 

The plot of this second mystery is complex, with intense action scenes, puzzling twists, and plenty of possible murder suspects to cross off the list. Laura had riled up any number of people in town, and her most recent proposal to the town council about upgrading the local dam from water control to hydroelectric power generation engendered even stronger emotions from some of the residents, including Roy. As the story progresses, the secrets underlying those emotions unwillingly come out into the open. 

The action takes place in the lakeland town of Oakcrest, which is near enough to Toronto to attract the cottage country crowd for summer vacations and weekend stays. However, with Thanksgiving just over (October in Canada), it is the off-season, and tourists are at a minimum, reducing the income for local mom-and-pop businesses that thrive on their trade to survive. The lake, the marina, and the surrounding area provide quite an atmospheric setting for the story, which features the possibility of a mythical lake monster coming to life. 

While this second Charley Scott mystery can be read and followed by readers new to the series, there is little backstory regarding the events of the previous book included to bring them up to date with the characters, so for the best understanding and enjoyment, I suggest reading book one before embarking on this latest adventure. I recommend SHUDDER PULP to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy characters who are artists or reporters or plots with an artistic theme. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.