Becca King, a precocious young woman in her early teens, had arrived unaccompanied on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound with the intention of meeting her mother’s close friend, Carol Quinn, who would provide safety and a temporary home. Becca and her mother Laurel Armstrong had made a frantic exit from the mounting tensions in their San Diego home. Laurel thought it best to head north and split up for the time being so not to be easily traced. She continued on to a town in Canada. Laurel had no idea that Quinn had died unexpectedly. Unable to contact her mother, Becca found she was alone in an unfamiliar place.
They were fleeing Becca’s duplicitous stepfather Jeff Corrie, who was exploiting unsuspecting senior citizens under the auspices of providing financial counseling. In the process he and his business associate were making off with gobs of other people’s money. Jeff had enlisted young Becca in his cynical endeavor after discovering her remarkable psychic talent for perceiving the fragmentary thoughts of others. Becca calls these audible words and phrases “whispers.” Jeff’s partner in deception, Conner West, disappears. Becca suspects foul play. Disturbing whispers picked up from her stepfather convinces Becca that she and her mother are in serious jeopardy. “So they’d made a run for it because Jeff was dangerous. He’d used his wife’s daughter to help him embezzle money, he’d cheated old people out of their life savings, he was being investigated, he was a con man, he was a killer.”
Author and Whidbey Island resident Elizabeth George has been called “the most famous British writer who is not British.” She is best known for a successful series of mysteries set in England — 18 books thus far — featuring the aristocratic sleuth Thomas Linley. Her stories have been dramatized for television. In 2011, she made her first foray into Young Adult fiction introducing Becca King in “The Edge of Nowhere.” A second installment, “The Edge of the Water,” followed. The just published third volume, “The Edge of the Shadows,” resumes the story of Becca and her effort to maintain her secrets while navigating the social and emotional terrain of teen life. A fourth installment is projected.
Becca has settled into the rhythm of the island. She is living in the home of Ralph Darrow, a kind and crusty elder whose family has been on Whidbey for generations. Her relationship with her boyfriend Derric Mathieson is going well. Originally from Uganda, Derric was adopted and is a distinct presence in a predominantly white community. The petite and feisty Jenn McDaniels, Becca’s former antagonist, has become a good friend. “The three were a study in contrasts, with Becca light-haired, trim from months of bicycle riding, and wearing heavy-rimmed glasses and enough makeup to suggest she was auditioning for membership in the reincarnation of the rock band Kiss; Derric tall, well-built, shaven-headed, African, and gorgeous; and Jenn all sinew and attitude, hair cut like a boy’s and tan from a summer of intense soccer practice.”
A string of fires has unsettled the community and given residents good cause to believe that a pyromaniac is at work. Suspicion falls on a trio of newcomers to Whidbey: Isis Martin, a beauty with a near manic style of speaking; her younger brother Aidan, a quirky kid who mostly keeps to himself; and Parker Natalia, a handsome and talented fiddler. Isis and Aidan have come from California to stay with their grandmother.
Becca is not the only one harboring secrets. She becomes increasingly nervous about Aidan, who is overly curious about her. Still fearful of her stepfather and unable to communicate with her mother, Becca worries that nosey Aidan might find out things that she must still keep hidden.
Parker connects with fellow musician Seth Darrow, old Ralph’s grandson. Seth has become something of a big brother to Becca. “Seth was the only person on Whidbey Island who knew the danger she was in. She’d told him early on because she’d had to tell him. She needed help. She’d needed someone’s friendship. From the first, Seth Darrow had been the person on hand to supply her with both.”
A fine guitarist, Seth weighs the possibility of admitting Parker into his band but becomes alarmed after an ominous conversation with one of Parker’s former bandmates. “Look at it this way. He’s one hell of a musician and there’s no question about it. But the deal is this: You’re probably setting yourself up for trouble in more ways than one if you make him part of your group. That’s all.”
The intriguing Diana Kinsale has befriended Becca. The older woman is tacitly aware of Becca’s evolving extrasensory abilities. Diana has given Becca a book on visionary experiences and seems to be gently guiding Becca in the course of her deepening psychic talents. Diana was “perilously close to declaring to Becca that she knew perfectly well that Becca could hear what was going on in people’s heads. This also brought Diana perilously close to saying, ‘Here is your next step, my dear.’”
Though categorized under the Young Adult rubric, the current tale and the previous two volumes should appeal to any fan of mystery, young or old. Many of the characters are endearing and plots and subplots move along smoothly. The three books constitute an enjoyable read.