Sea of Troubles

When spirited Seattle attorney Annie MacPherson visits a client's exclusive resort on the San Juan Islands to negotiate its sale, she looks forward to combining legal matters with a few days of recreation. But her moments of relaxation are interrupted when the prospective buyer's comely French girlfriend is kidnapped and held for ransom. Before the furious buyer carries out his threat to sue the resort for negligence, a male guest is found shot to death in his beachfront cabin. Afraid her client may be held accountable for this incident, too, Annie puts on her sleuthing cap to help police solve the seemingly unrelated crimes. She questions hotel guests (each one, from the scheming actress to the secretive political candidate, is hiding something), playing a game of cat and mouse with the increasingly desperate killer. The author's experiences as a former trial lawyer help her create a logical, believable story line, and carefully dropped clues, chilling murder scenes and plot twists make this first novel a crisp, well-crafted whodunit. (Apr.)