The Bluff by Bonnie Traymore
This is the third book by Bonnie Traymore that I have reviewed, and they just keep getting better. There’s no question in my mind that Traymore should be getting recognized as a prominent new voice in mystery fiction.
Like her earlier books, The Bluff is a deliciously twisted tale about marital infidelity, long-buried secrets and, of course, murder — all of it set this time in a bucolic little Michigan lake town called Crescent Lake where we soon find out that nothing is what it seems.
The main character is Kate Breslow, a 41-year-old widow who is leading a controversial environmental campaign to deal with the crumbling bluff around the lake which is rapidly eroding from seawater and putting all the houses there at risk — with huge amounts of money and property values at stake for her and other homeowners, depending on what course of action they take.
The Unfolding Mystery
Just before a crucial vote on the measure and after bitter battles and debates and protests, Kate’s main opponent, who was expected to present an opposing plan that could scuttle hers, goes missing and then is found dead – which points a finger of suspicion at her as the prime suspect for murder.
We also soon find out from Kate — who is a bit of an unreliable narrator — that she has not been completely truthful about the circumstances of her own husband’s death a year earlier, who was killed when his car mysteriously plunged off a rainy road through a guard rail and over a cliff one night.
So did Kate murder the man standing in the way of her environmental plan?
Did she kill her husband too a year earlier?
Or is something else altogether going on here?
The fast-moving story is told through two viewpoints — mostly from Kate, but there are also alternating chapters featuring the police detective investigating all this — a small-town veteran cop named Travis Whittaker whose life is pretty much dedicated to his job. His partner is a just-married woman named Sloane Davis. Together they make a delightful pair as they try to untangle the mystery — or mysteries — that have been happening in their quiet little town.
A Compelling Protagonist
Kate Breslow is a truly fascinating character too, and you soon find yourself rooting for her — even if you aren’t quite sure whether she’s responsible in any way for the deaths of the two men.
Throughout the book, Kate begins to reveal more and more of her own back story: she was a successful childcare specialist in New York City; met and fell in love with her husband Ryan there; allowed him to convince her to leave New York for a house in this small lake town in Michigan; and then began to regret that decision as she fell out of love with Ryan.
By the time of his death, they were on the verge of a divorce and she recounts terrible tales of cruelty and even abuse — both psychological and physical — against her that made her afraid for her own safety the longer she lived in the Crescent Lake house with him.
All of those secrets come rolling out now with the new murder, and Kate even contemplates the possibility she might have to go to prison, even though we’re not quite sure yet what she might be guilty of doing that would send her there.
A Captivating Setting
The other great thing about this book is the setting in the small Michigan lake town, which really comes alive through Traymore’s vivid and colorful descriptions of the lake, the area and the people. I found all that especially interesting since I grew up in nearby Ohio, and often vacationed with my family in Michigan places like Cresent Lake when I was young. The whole big city New York City woman (Kate) who moves her life to this small lake town really works wonderfully to help set the drama and the mood of the story.
In the end, the fast-moving pages of The Bluff conclude with a bang-up, dramatic, breath-taking climax — actually more than one climax! — that you won’t see coming and Traymore definitely pulls together all the pieces of this puzzle at the end in a very satisfying way.
I recommend this — and all of Bonnie Traymore’s earlier books too — very highly to readers.
Now I can’t wait until she writes her next one!
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About Bonnie Traymore:
Bonnie Traymore is the award-winning, Amazon best-selling author of page-turner mystery/thrillers that hit close to home. Her books feature strong but relatable female protagonists. The plots explore difficult topics such as jealousy, infidelity, murder, and the impact of psychological disorders, but she also includes bits of romance and humor to lighten the mood from time to time. She’s an active status member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America.
She is also an accomplished non-fiction writer, historian, and educator with a doctorate in United States History. She has taught at top independent schools in Honolulu, Silicon Valley, and New York City, and she has taught history courses at Columbia University and the University of Hawaii. Originally from the New York City area, she resides in Honolulu with her husband but frequents the Hudson Valley and New York City areas.
