THE GLASS EEL

Murder and menace plague the fisherfolk of a Maine community, with a struggling woman at the center of the threat.

Off the coast of Maine lies Caterpillar Island, dotted with saltbox homes. It’s here that Jeanette King lives a hardscrabble life that’s been made even more difficult by her divorce from Simon, a no-account lobsterman. The first third of Viertel’s debut novel focuses mostly on this fishing community, the details of its industry, and its various residents. Jeanette, who cobbles together a living collecting crabs, has recently beaten cancer and lost her son, Liam, under circumstances that at first go unexplained. When a loud engine wakes her up in the middle of a foggy night, she gives futile chase to a boat she recognizes as Simon’s. Shortly after her tense reunion with Liam’s childhood friend Joey Pizio, who gives her money that’s meant for Simon, the ominous Bennett Tyson arrives with a nervous Joey to demand money the money back. Not long after, Jeanette discovers Joey’s half-submerged corpse. As the plot thickens, the author’s lens widens beyond Jeanette as her search for answers to larger felonious issues stretches all the way to the governor’s office. Who killed Joey? Who’s sabotaging the local delivery trucks? And what’s happened to Simon? Jeanette’s dilemma adds momentum to the novel, but its most interesting aspect is its portrait of Caterpillar and the lives of its denizens. There’s even a chapter from the perspective of the eels.

An offbeat, atmospheric thriller with a whodunit at its core.