Wendy Percival

Wendy is a new writer to me but I'll be reading more of her work after this.

The Indelible Stain

Amazon.com The Indelible Stain

My review -

This is the second book in the Esme Quentin mysteries, genealogical conundrums which Esme picks apart. I confess that I haven’t read the first and no doubt it would have added depth to Esme’s character if I had, but the book stands as a complete story and I felt nothing was lacking. Esme arrives at a coastal town to help an old friend to catalogue some documents and the moment she arrives she finds a woman on the beach at the foot of the cliffs, dying. She utters her two final words to Esme and the puzzle begins. Esme’s researches lead her back in time several generations to Sarah Baker, a young girl transported in a convict ship to Australia.

This is quite a complex story involving two lines of a family tree and going back to another country. However, it’s so well told that it’s not difficult to follow. I love the kind of mystery which sends me barking up the wrong tree a couple of times and this is just such a story. It was well written and I was totally engaged throughout. An excellent read.