Long Island in 1947 was home to two separate communities - the locals, both descendants of early English settlers and ethnic immigrants, mostly fishermen and shopkeepers - and the summer people, wealthy New Yorkers who built large vacation homes and employed, but didn't mix with the locals.Conrad Labarde, a Basque fisherman and WWII hero, and his partner Rollo, pull in their net to find the body of a young woman, drowned, apparently accidentally. She is the daughter of one of the wealthy summer families. And she and Conrad had been secret lovers for some months. He knew she was too good a swimmer to risk a dangerous tide, and she was wearing her earrings, which she never did when she went swimming. The coroner says accidental death, but Conrad is not convinced. Neither is Tom Hollis, the deputy chief of police. Conrad begins to look for evidence to bear out his suspicions and leads Hollis to keep looking into the death. It's a good detective story, but much more. It's a wonderfully drawn portrait of a lost society - the Long Island fishing community - and a sharp study of post WWII caste and class in America. The characters are really well developed - Conrad and Hollis especially - but the dead woman and her family, the other fishermen and Abel the photographer as well. We learn about Conrad's childhood in France and his emigration to the US and his war experiences. We learn why and how Hollis left the NYPD and how his marriage broke up. There are two love stories and some political intrigue. It's richly satisfying and beautifully written.
What do You think about Amagansett (2005)?
A very character driven and slowed paced mystery set in post WWII Long Island.I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was slow, the characterization rich and the mystery quite involving. It's was also set in Long Island, where I live, in one of my favorite areas of the island - so I 'knew' many of the places mentioned in the book.When Conrad Labarde is out fishing one morning he finds the body of Lily Wallace - the daughter of one of the wealthier 'summer people'. The local police officer, Tom Hollis, a recent NYC transplant is willing to accept the coroner's cause of death as suicide by drowning; until Conrad begins to point out some conflicting evidence. Conrad then mentions one name to Hollis, Lizzie Jenks, a young victim of a hit and run two years earlier. What does Lillian have to do with Lizzie and more to the point what does Conrad know about it?Very complex, beautifully written and well researched this is a book to savor. The portrait of the Long Island fisherman, once the main livelihood of the east coast, now virtually extinct, is fascinating in and of itself. Not for lovers of slash and burn thrillers, this is a more literary take on a murder mystery.
—Linda
A murder mystery set in Long Island in the late 1940’s with plenty of excellent historical and background information about the area. This I think was the reason for me that the mystery was a little slow to get going and at one time I nearly gave up. Get beyond this slow start and it is well worth reading as everything that came before begins to make sense!Lillian Wallace youngest daughter of a wealthy New York family who have a summer home in East Hampton is found dead in mysterious circumstances.Her death is declared an accident but two local men have their own good reasons to believe otherwise. Conrad Labarde, local fisherman who discovered the body and Tom Hollis, deputy police chief, individually unravel the mysteries behind Lillian’s death. Complex twists and turns lead to the conclusion, thanks to the collaboration of these two men.I believe this is Mark Mills’s first novel though he is already an established script writer. Murder mysteries are not my favourite genre but I will certainly add this author to the list of thriller writers that I do enjoy. In fact The Savage Garden is already on my bookshelf, waiting to be read.
—LindyLouMac
A thoroughly engrossing, superbly plotted thriller set in Amagansett and East Hampton, Long Island in 1947. Two local fisherman pull an unexpected catch from their nets - the body of a beautiful, wealthy young woman. The autopsy finds that she drowned, but of course we know it's not quite that simple. It could make a very good movie; not surprisingly, the author is also a screenwriter. Scenes and dialogue flow effortlessly and you can tell which lines are going to get a laugh in a theater. Mills creates an unforgettable hero in Conrad LaBarde, working class Basque fisherman, World War II veteran, death-defying commando, crimesolver always four steps ahead of the local police. The scenes and jargon involving commercial and charter boat fishing seem impeccable, to my unlearned eye, and Mills also incorporates some history of Long Island and some gruesome tales from WWII. Two minor annoyances: the author coyly brings up Jackson Pollock (famous resident of the area) without naming him, and the sex scenes between Hollis and Mary. Gruesome sex scenes between frumpy people - one of my pet peeves.
—Lobstergirl
