"Fogland Point is a unique, surprising, moving, occasionally hilarious, and entirely marvelous book about the complicated mysteries that lie at the heart of all families - although the Hazard family is definitely more complicated and mysterious and interesting than most." --Nick Petrie, author of Light It Up, the latest of the award-winning Peter Ash thrillers
David Hazard wanted nothing more than to forget his renegade family and the foggy New England village "on the wrong side" of Narragansett Bay where he grew up. When sudden tragedy brings him back to Little Compton to care for his grandmother during her struggle with dementia, he discovers her fragile memories may hold the key to a bizarre mystery half a century old - and perhaps to the sudden and brutal murder right next door.
Once Chief of Police Billy Dyer names her as a witness, Grandma Maggie's recollections become vital. But can they be trusted, especially in a town where everyone has a secret, including David himself?
The investigation stalls. Then eccentric millionaire Marcus Rhinegold's yacht disappears into the fog, bodies begin to wash ashore, and Maggie's stories come vividly to life, setting off a chain of events both horrifying and hauntingly familiar. Puritans, gun-runners, Mafiosi, and a rogues' gallery from past and present converge in the mists of the bay, challenging Billy with layers of deception. On Christmas Eve, he enlists David in a daring move to uncover the many truths surrounding Fogland Point.
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Review"Elegant prose, a veritable Chinese box of puzzles, and authentic, well-rounded characters make this a standout." (starred review) (*Publishers Weekly*)
"Drop everything and read this book. A terrific story in a terrifically honest voice - it's intelligent and original, hilarious and heartbreaking, evocative and charming. A beautifully written tale of murder, dementia, family, love - and surprises! Standing ovation." (Hank Phillippi Ryan, Bestselling, award-winning author)
"Fogland Point is first-class fiction, a multilayered and original mystery underscored by fine writing, fully developed characters, and a wonderful sense of place. Doug Burgess writes with humor and poignancy while creating an eerie, atmospheric tale that is sure to please." (Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of How It Happened**)
"The police chief's wife wears her gardening hat at Sunday services, hoping to conceal the bruises from the beating her husband gave her the previous night. Grandma, who lives alone in a big old house, wonders why Ronald Reagan stopped making movies. By now we've learned that these are the sorts of not-so-secret details of small-town life anywhere. But author Burgess digs deeper, giving us a beautifully written account of a world that stretches any definition of bizarre. Narrator David Hazard has returned to his fogbound New England village to care for Grandma and tend his own secret, which will stay secret here, just in time to encounter a murder. Grandma's pal, the octogenarian lady next door, has had her skull bashed in. Getting a grip on what happened means probing layers of betrayal and murder. Turns out the past half-century has been an elaborate smokescreen, a carefully orchestrated flimflam to cover up something that shouldn't have happened. Burgess handles the revelations with an effective mix of wry humor and tough-guy violence." (Don Crinklaw *Booklist*)