The Dredge

In this accomplished debut mystery, Flaherty revitalizes the familiar trope of old secrets threatening to resurface with sinewy prose and well-tooled suspense. In the present, plans are underway to dredge Gibbs Pond in Macoun, Conn., after a yearslong silt buildup. Developer Lily Rowe, who’s leading the project, hopes it will increase property values in the area, but also fears new light may be shed on dark secrets from her family’s past. Her father, Abe Rowe, physically abused his wife and children, including Lily’s brother, Ray, whose resulting behavioral issues—including violence and classroom disobedience—led the neighborhood to label him a dangerous pariah. Abe and Ray both disappeared in 1993, not long after the death of Eli Casey, who once tried to intervene and protect Abe’s wife, Bonnie, from her husband’s violent outbursts. Casey’s sons, Cale and Ambrose, who knew Lily growing up, have concerns of their own about what violent secrets the dredging might expose, leading Cale to return to Connecticut from Hawaii so he can convene with Ambrose. The past and present unfold gradually from the vantage points of Flaherty’s well-drawn leads, keeping readers on a knife’s edge as the full scope of each character’s history clicks into place. Admirers of Eli Cranor’s Ozark Dogs will be riveted. Agent: Duvall Osteen, United Talent Agency. (Mar.)