Snipe Hunt

Forensic historian Simon Shaw, who made his debut in Simon Said, gets an unexpected and unwelcome opportunity to exercise his unique skills during a Thanksgiving vacation on Pearlie Beach--a small island off the North Carolina coast. Simon, a college history professor and winner of a Pulitzer Prize, is joined for the holiday by his friend David Morgan, an archeologist; romantic interest Julia McGloughlin, a police attorney; and the Cleggs--Marcus, who is Simon's colleague, his wife and three young daughters. When a dredger dislodges an old WWII diving suit, with an occupant, Simon and his friends are soon involved in a mystery that seems too old and too difficult to solve. Both the coastal waters and the denizens of Pearlie Beach hide their secrets well, and prizing them loose proves difficult and dangerous. Confederate gold, German U-boats, blockade runners, murders old and new all surface to play their part in this appealing cozy, which pleasingly mixes regional history and lore, a bit of romance and a soup on of suspense. (Mar.)