the drowner T2355 Author:John D. MacDonald Events are set in motion by the death of Lucille Hansen who drowns in a lake .The cause of death is a mystery .Some claim it was accidental ,although Lucille was a strong swimmer ,while still others believe it was a suicide as she was on the verge of matrimonial breakup and was having an affair with Sam a local speculator .Her sister , Barbara b... more »elieves it was murder and engages the sevices of a detective agency to uncover the truth .Assigned to the case is Pual Stanier who -posing as an insurance investigator -digs into the case .He finds a society of shallow and voracious people and not a little corruption with Sam in particular having used Lucille to hide a cache of money he was anxious to conceal from the IRS and his own somwhat shady tax lawyer .The money is missing -which points to murder
We learn that it is indeed murder ,and also the identity of the killer ,we around 30% of the novel still to go and this last section becomes focussed on how the culprit is brought to justice and the person's motives
This is well written and nicely crafted and builds to an exciting climax in which more bodies pile up« less