Breakaway Books

Authored by Molly MacRae; Published 2024; Mystery

⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️

I am borderline obsessive about my reading and finishing the novels I start, and I hold on to a book for far longer than I should in attempt to fulfill my completionist tendencies. So, when I say I couldn’t finish Come Shell or High Water, that really does mean something. 

In Come Shell or High Water, Maureen Nash returns to Ocracoke Island, where she and her husband had vacationed for many years with their sons, following her husband’s death. In the wake of a hurricane, chaos abounds—and results in one dead body and one highly spotty memory for Maureen. Immediately under the microscope, she feels compelled to clear her name for the murder of the man who owned the local shell shop. One problem: The ghost who haunts his shop is now haunting her.

There is a truly intriguing concept behind this book, and I enjoy the way it starts off. Maureen wakes up and finds her memory somewhat lacking, but despite the deficit, she is certain that something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. Filling the gaps in her memory could be a tense adventure—but the execution of this concept goes awry. The novel is packed with too many suspects and a far-too-eventful investigation. I found it difficult to keep up with Maureen’s train of thought, and I was frustrated that the author inserted clues in such obvious ways. I felt like I was being led around by the nose and told to look at specific details rather than feeling like I was discovering them myself. All of which is to say, I did not enjoy the construction of this mystery. 

But what truly bothered me about this novel is the characters. Maureen’s interactions with the denizens of the island are comically unnatural, so ridiculous that they border on nonsensical. How can she slip so easily into a community of strangers who accuse her of murder, direct her not to consult with the police or with physicians, and spy on her? Emotionally, the way that all these people interact makes no sense, and I am absolutely shocked by the matter-of-factness with which people greet the news of repeated murders. Overall, it makes the book come off as cartoonish, a parody of reality. 

Come Shell or High Water, maddeningly, has the kernel of a good story. But the execution falls woefully short.