Search - Cyanide Wells

Marcia Muller adds a non-series book to her repertoire, though it's so well-written that I hope a series may come from it.

A man's wife goes missing and he is left behind in their small town, fending off rumors and accusations that he murdered her. His life is turned upside down by her disappearance.

Fourteen years later, he gets an anonymous phone call telling him that his wife is still alive, living in California under an assumed name. She has made a new life for herself, knowing the kind of mess she left behind. He goes in search of her, but just as he finds her, she takes off again, leaving behind an even bigger mystery this time.

Excellent thriller with amazing plot twists and very likeable characters. I am glad to have found this author and will definitely read more by her in hopes that all of her works are this good!

Worth the time it takes to read!

A hard, four-hour drive north of San Francisco leads to sparsely populated Soledad County, a combination of spectacular seashore, inland forests, and small towns steeped in gold-mining history. One of those towns is Cyanide Wells, now an artsy community, whose name comes from the miners' use of cyanide to refine ore and the time the area's water supply was tragically poisoned. To Matthew Lindstrom, that sinister legacy is ironically appropriate for the place he finally expects to find his ex-wife, Gwen. Fourteen years earlier, her baffling disappearance branded him a murderer and destroyed his reputation and career as a photographer. Suddenly, after all this time, an annonymous phone caller tells him that Gwen is alive - and well aware of what she has done. Matt comes to Cyanide Wells looking for answers...and revenge. Here, where the surrounding thick forest conceals twisted paths and old sins, Matt works to uncover the details of Gwen's new life. But before he can confront her, his ex vanishes once more. With his future again threatened by suspicion, Matt must join forces with Carly McGuire - a local woman with secrets of her own - and begin a hunt through Soledad's untamed landscape and an interior geography of betrayal and darkness. There perhaps lies the truth about past crimes and Gwen's fate...as well as Matt's own.

Fourteen years after his wife's disappearance branded him a murderer and ruined his life, Matthew Lindstrom receives an anonymous phone call revealing that Gwen is alive...and well aware of the wreckage she left behind. Seeking answers and revenge, he comes to the isolated town of Cyanide Wells. Here, where the surrounding thick forest conceals twisted paths and old sins, Matt begins to learn the details of Gwen's new life. But before he can confront her, his ex vanishes once more. Now Matt must join forces with Carly McGuire, a local woman with secrets of her own, and begin a desperate hunt for the truth about past crimes and Gwen's fate. For hovering over him are suspicions that can destroy him once again. (from back cover)

Fourteen years after his wife's disappearance branded him a murderer, Matthew Lindstrom receives an anonymous phone call telling his that Gwen is alive and well aware of the wreckage she left behind. Seeking answers he comes to the isolated town of Cyanide Wells. Before he can confront her his ex vanishes again and he begins a desparate hunt for truth.