His mind would turn unto the waters

OK, so Amagansett shouldn't work. The plot has a pile of cliched elements. The two male leads are loner types. The first is a disgraced NYPD cop exiled to the Long Island sticks. The other is first generation Basque-American fisherman with secrets of his own. A daughter of a wealthy family ends up in our Basque friend's fishing net, and wouldn't you know it, said wealthy family has some secrets too!!! And guess what, they aren't the nicest of people either. Throw in an incompetent police chief, a woman that promises redemption for our disgraced and recently divorced cop and you have the makings of every mystery novel ever written.

So why does it work? First, the writing is good. Mills is excellent at describing the coast and the sea, which are in abundance on Long Island. His descriptions of fishing are also memorable. The setting is a plus as well. It's a few years after World War 2, which is a time you don't see much in literature. There are plenty of war stories, and plenty of tales from the 50s, whether they be about the effects of living with the Cold War or living with the new prosperity and the conformity and rebellion that came with it. The late 40s setting provides a few new things. For one, the country is still hurting from the war. Many families are short fathers, sons and brothers and still mourn. The effects (specifically wealth) from Prohibition are still an issue. And the suburbinization of areas like Long Island is really just starting. This is new stuff and it is interesting.

It isn't really a thriller but a slow paced mystery about sadness. I dug it.