Eden Baylee left a twenty-year banking career
to become a full-time writer. Incorporating some of her favorite things such as
travel, culture, and a deep curiosity for what turns people on, her brand of
writing is sensual, sexual, and literary.
June 30, 2014 saw the release of her first
novel, a psychological mystery set in Jamaica called Stranger at Sunset.
About Stranger at
Sunset
One word to describe the novel would be lengthy.
I struggled with this aspect - it seemed to drag on and on
through so many sections that it became hard work.
However, with my greatest bugbear out of the way, I can now
dwell on far more positive aspects. What an entertaining story! We are told
that our protagonist is Kate Hampton, who heads off to Jamaica for a holiday.
Once there we meet a range of interesting and rather shady characters with
different views of the world to bring to the table.
The book is written from multiple perspectives, which is
fascinating. With the skill of a juggler the author manages to get inside the
head of so many different mindsets. I found it unusual that Kate’s viewpoint
seemed to receive as much attention as anyone else’s, but this also made the
story intriguing. At some points she almost retreated into the backdrop, and I
can see now the author’s purpose for this. Baylee gives each character his or
her due in terms of background and motivation, although the reader may have to
wait in suspense to piece all the crumbs of clues together.
It reminded me of Poirot, stuck on a train with a murderer
(or two or three). Certainly all the elements of a good Agatha Christie are
here. Interesting characters. Chance encounters. History. A dead body. A
wonderfully lavish and exotic location. But Baylee throws the prescriptive “whodunit”
bible out the window and writes to her own tune, which was hugely refreshing
and so enjoyable.
First of all, the murder happens in the prologue, just
vaguely, through someone else’s eyes (or binoculars, actually). Not too
unusual, you may think. But then we go back in time and hear about everyone
arriving at the resort, and the murder itself occurs blow by blow before our
eyes half way through the book. However, and here’s the twist, the reader can’t
actually be too sure who the murderer and victim are. Or even, in Poirot terms,
who will play detective? And who has a history with the victim? A lover? A
business partner? A family member? The victim is named fairly quickly, but the
red herrings for the identity of the murderer continue until the very last part
of the book, and the motivations left hanging till the final page.
The roles which Baylee has given her protagonist are numerous,
and extremely clever. I have never encountered a main character quite like Kate
Hampton. I did not like her, which tainted my opinion of the book (it is
difficult to enjoy a book whose main character you dislike), but luckily she is
not front and centre all the time. Her greatest gift is her amazing mind. At
times she waves away others’ compliments of her stunning memory, even though
she’s the one asking about their mother-in-law by name. I found that she is at
times strong and confident, at others frustratingly submissive or even foggy, and
at the end, when it really sealed my opinion of her, a petulant child. There
are fuzzy areas at key points in the book where I couldn’t get a handle on what
she was thinking at all, and although I understand it now, I found this
difficult to accept in a main character.
Baylee can write. I found the pace and timing of the flow of
the story a little off; the clues unusually spaced, the reveals a little
mistimed. But there is no denying that she writes well, in terms of structure
and grammar. And in a writer I think this is important. I also think it’s
important for a writer to have a sense of humour, which Baylee clearly has. I’m
not saying that Stranger at Sunset is
a comedy, or that it’s full of caricatures. What I am saying is that Baylee
writes not only with passion and verve, but also at times with her tongue
firmly in her cheek. And this is what I appreciate most about a writer; that
they can enjoy and embrace the subtleties and expectations of their genre
whilst having a little smile to themselves too.
All in all, this story is a find for Indie readers and for
fans of mysteries - especially if you like a little bit of twisting!
Stranger at Sunset
is Eden Baylee’s first novel and she is currently writing a second plunge into
Kate Hampton’s world. However, if you are desperate to get your hands on more
of Baylee’s work, she has published many novellas and short stories. To find
out more, visit www.edenbaylee.com
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