Charred Wood

A concealed door in a giant tree interrupts Mark Griffin's idle stay in Sihasset, a New England seaside village. Resting beside the walled Killimaga estate, he sees a young woman appear near the road and join a Catholic priest. A book agent and the local constable are watching her too, with a written description in hand. Mark's curiosity gives this bored traveler a fresh reason to take an interest in village life.

Francis Clement Kelley's novel combines romance and mystery with a Christian setting. Its intrigue moves from the bluff and the estate wall to a tense conversation in which an official questions an armed subordinate about a death near the same tree. Hidden entrances, uncertain identities and guarded testimony supply the suspense. Readers interested in mysteries with clerical figures and a coastal village setting will find an opening built around observation: a brief encounter becomes more puzzling as each watcher reveals a different interest.