Clouds Over Katahdin

Janet Doucette
Review

This cozy mystery gone bad is set in the lakes and mountains region of Maine, in the shadows of Mount Katahdin. When Johanna Kincaid visits her old friend Norah Jordan-Minsky, she learns someone wants her friend out of the way. She must discover who and why amidst a cloud of deception and devious acts of sabotage.

​

Readers are immediately drawn to the character of Norah and the complexities of her husband’s wealthy and influential family. But her husband, Nathan, died in a kayak accident, the previous year, so she is left to navigate those difficult relationships on her own. 

​

To make matters worse, Norah is a brilliant eco-botanist known for her intellect and integrity. Her passionate focus on the science of plant-based medicine blinds her to the lengths other people will go to achieve their goals; especially when she stands between what they want and what they will do to get it. 

​

This story is about secrets and underhanded intensions, greed and manipulation. Johanna reveals a few secrets of her own as she takes a stand against a well-devised plan to undermine Norah’s position in the family legacy. 

​

There are many moving parts in this mystery, puzzles to solve, and devious characters to sort. Don’t let the slow and peaceful start lull you into thinking its pace is more bucolic than suspenseful. Every scene is chock full of clues, hidden in plain sight. 

​

When the danger begins, it’s a fast-paced, non-stop race to the finish with more than one life in the balance. From a midnight hike under the stars of Mount Katahdin to a wild kayak ride down a raging river, the tension is tight and the outcome is uncertain. 

​

To win the battle against callous and murderous adversaries, Johanna must make a soul-wrenching decision. She must step over the line between what she would or would not do. She must turn her own abject fear into an unlikely ally. 

​

In the second book of the Johanna Kincaid Mystery Series, mystical elements remain a driving force offering readers an opportunity to experience the unique world of non-ordinary reality. In case you are wondering about the shamanic shape-shifter who is pursuing Johanna like prey, there are a few clues in Clouds Over Katahdin which will lead you to the next book in the series, Incident on the Right-Of-Way.

​

If you liked A Convergence of Crows for its diverse team of specially skilled characters who came together to solve a crime, you will enjoy Clouds Over Katahdin for the opposite reason. Johanna Kincaid is on her own, or is she? 

​

​

​