A Whisper Came: a Cape Cod Mystery

There are any number of romance and mystery novels set in Cape Cod and the islands. I just read “A Whisper Came” (2020) by Keith Yocum. It’s one of a trilogy. It was pretty good.   A charter boat captain discovers a body floating in the waters off Monomoy island. In years past we’ve taken seal watching trips and boat explores around the island. It’s south of Chatham. Annually we make a stop at the Chatham lighthouse at the top of a strip of land that at one time was connected to Monomoy. Storms have created an inlet and Monomoy is divided into North and South. There have been many shipwrecks around Monomoy over the years. In 1823 a lighthouse was built on the island. It was decommissioned in 1923. The island is owned by the National Wildlife Service and the lighthouse is used as a research building. No one lives on the island. There are no docks, no roads, just sandy beaches. And mystery.         Yocum provides a lot of local history including the story of Whitewash Village, a small fishing community with several hundred people, a school and facilities for fishing, cleaning, salting, drying and shipping seafood. Nantucket Sound was full of fish and lobster. The village was hit by a major storm in the 1860s, ruining the harbor and the village slowly disappeared.         Stacie Davis, a young reporter from the “Boston Herald” is sent to Chatham to cover the story.  Most of the book is from Stacie’s point of view.  Local law enforcement has little to nothing to add the investigation.  Stacie begins to write some local color pieces.  They are received favorable by readership and her editors.  She is encouraged to stay on the story, learning much about Cape Cod, Chatham, and Monomoy.  She hears stories about ghosts on the island, a mooncusser trying to lure ships to wreck on the coastal shoals, and the legend of the White Stallion.  She learns about Beston and the outermost house.  As her research into local history continues, the editors get her a room in the Chatham Bars Inn. Pretty classy.  It’s a resort outside of town that’s been on our go have a drink or lunch list.    She gets permission to visit the Monomoy lighthouse in the early evening.  She has become friends with Capt. Carl who reluctantly agrees to take her to the island.  Weather, sea, wind, mystery.  Stacie and Carl are separated.  She finds him unconscious in the lighthouse.  What happened?  A Monomoy ghost.  The authorities suspect Stacie.    An investigation drags on. Carl has memory loss. The conclusion is that a local author, Winslow Prescott, whom Stacie has met several times and who tries to kill her is responsible for the unknown woman’s death. He killed her, threw her body in the water, to experience reality for his writing. Stacie was about to uncover him and he felt she had to die. But of course she lives.         A Whisper Came is a good fast paced mystery story. It set well in Chatham on Cape Cod. Lots of local history and legend to keep me interested.