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WRONG BEACH ISLAND by Jane Kelly Plexus Publishing, June 2002 333 pages $22.95 ISBN: 0937548472

WRONG BEACH ISLAND is the third outing for Meg Daniels and her on-off-on PI boyfriend Andy. If things had gone to plan this entry wouldn't have been set in a popular New Jersey resort like the previous books (A KILLING TIME IN OCEAN CITY, CAPE MAYHEM) but would have been the first in a Caribbean setting. Unfortunately for Meg, on the way to the airport to spend time in the sun on Andy's boat, they receive a crisis call from Andy's ex girlfriend Page Spencer whose husband, Dallas, has just died. As her husband died kayaking at night in February off Long Beach Island, the circumstances are somewhat suspicious especially as Page and Dallas argued that night. Page asks Andy for help and Meg, thinking it will only be for a few days agrees.

Meg soon becomes unhappy with the situation as Page is gorgeous and seems to want Andy back in her life. Andy doesn't help her insecurity as he spends a lot of time with Page, leaving Meg, who incidentally has no winter clothes after having put them in storage prior to her holiday, to her own devices. Meg does have company in the shape of a local police officer who begins to be convinced that Andy killed Dallas out of jealousy. The plot thickens when it is revealed that Dallas has died before, though this time it is for real. Previously he would 'die' and reappear under another (city's) name, but his luck has finally run out.

I love spending time with Meg, she is such a realistic character with all the insecurities and clumsiness of a real person. This outing has a more complicated plot than the previous two and in fact I stopped trying to keep all the various families that 'Dallas' had left behind straight, but this didn't spoil my enjoyment at all. I also didn't find it quite as laugh out loud funny as the previous two but this may be as it was more plot driven. There is a memorable scene with Meg on a bike. The sense of place, as usual, is superb, the author really makes me want to visit these places, though perhaps not in February. A complicated and well written story which leaves the reader waiting impatiently for the next book. Will they ever get to the Caribbean?

Reviewed by Karen Meek, March 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)

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