‘The Corpse With The Pearly Smile’ by Cathy Ace

Published by Four Tails Publishing,
7 October 2024.
ISBN: 978-1-99055028-7 (PB)

Cait Morgan feels like she and her husband, Bud Anderson, are trapped in paradise. In reality, the paradise is a luxury hotel in Tahiti and the trapped feeling is caused because Bud was injured when the couple were in Australia, which means that he is unable to travel by air for several more months. Cait is truly grateful for Bud’s recovery, but she has found the prolonged sea journey back to their home in Canada very tedious and is growing very tired of the wait in Tahiti for their next sea connection. She misses their adored dog, Marty, and is finding it challenging to fulfil her lecturing commitments as a Professor of Criminal Psychology while working virtually. Cait and Bud were fortunate enough to be invited to be test guests at the new Legrand Resort, which has been created by Henri Legrand and his wife, Fleur. Henri had been a colleague of Bud’s many years ago when they both served in the RCMP (the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) although Bud’s career had been far more successful than Henri’s. Cait has done her best to offer honest, constructive feedback about the service, as the Legrands had requested, and she believes that the whole management team at the resort is warm, caring and closely knit.

The Legrand Resort is situated on an isolated outcrop that is difficult to approach by land and is usually accessed by sea. Cait often goes for an early morning swim in the resort’s lagoon but one morning she receives a horrible shock when she discovers a dead body floating in the water. She shouts for help and, with the aid of the resort manager, Mahana, she pulls the body onto the beach. The victim is soon identified as Vaiarii Teriimana, a young man who had been born and brought up in Tahiti. As a teenager he had been engaged in the dangerous job of deep-sea pearl diving but since that time he has achieved international fame as a model for the world renowned Ducasse pearl company and his amazing, pearly white smile has been seen in advertising throughout the world. Now, as well as his employment with the Ducasse company, he has several lucrative sponsorship deals with other companies and is engaged to marry CeeCee Ducasse, the daughter of the proprietor of the pearl company and a leading influencer in travel and fashion.

The reactions of the core team at the Legrand Resort are varied. Mahana is a close friend of Vaiarii’s mother, and she is distressed by the death of a young man that she has known since he was born. Henri and Fleur are extremely worried about the effect that the death of a well-known young man will have on their new business, especially if CeeCee uses her power as an influencer to emphasise that her fiancé died in the resort’s lagoon. Vaiarii and CeeCee had recently been at the resort to make a short promotional film, and the majority of the staff express negative feelings about Vaiarii’s behaviour. Although the initial assumption is that Vaiarii’s death was an accident there are a few signs that cause Cait to wonder if that is the case.

The tensions rise when CeeCee and her assistant, Troy, arrive at the resort. Cait is unimpressed by the young woman who seems to be totally self-centred and determined to dramatise her reaction to Vaiarii’s death to share with her followers. She is irritated by the subservience Henri and Fleur show to CeeCee, which Cait knows is not because of pity for her bereavement but because they are afraid, she will write an adverse review of the resort and influence her followers to stay away.

Another person is violently attacked, which makes it essential to consider Vaiarii’s death in another more sinister light. The road access to the resort is temporarily impassable and the detective assigned to the case is unwilling to travel by water, so the only police officer initially present is a delightful, uniformed officer who is nicknamed Sunny. He is very knowledgeable about all the people involved, having lived on the island all his life, and he is happy to accept the expertise offered by Cait and Bud. At first Cait makes little headway with the investigation until she realises that her usual flair for seeing into the minds of those she is dealing with has deserted her. A rethink is necessary and, having done so, Cait swiftly realises that the truth lies within the secrets of the island, concealed in the hearts and lives of the people who had been born and bred there.

The Corpse with the Pearly Smile is the fourteenth book in the series featuring Cait Morgan and Bud Anderson. It is a superb edition to an excellent series, with engaging characters, a compelling plot, fascinating descriptions of a place that is for many people associated with the paradise depicted in Gauguin's art. Above all the book has a depth and truthfulness that lift it above other crime novels. This is a page turner, which I wholeheartedly recommend.
-------
Reviewer: Carol Westron

Cathy Ace was born and raised in Swansea, South Wales. With a successful career in marketing having given her the chance to write training courses and textbooks, Cathy has now finally turned her attention to her real passion: crime fiction. Her short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies. Two of her works, Dear George and Domestic Violence, have also been produced by Jarvis & Ayres Productions as ‘Afternoon Reading’ broadcasts for BBC Radio 4. Cathy now writes two series of traditional mysteries: The Cait Morgan Mysteries (TouchWood Editions) and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (Severn House Publishers)

http://cathyace.com

Carol Westron is a successful author and a Creative Writing teacher.  Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times.  Her first book The Terminal Velocity of Cats was published in 2013. Since then, she has since written 8 further mysteries.
Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. interview

www.carolwestron.com
To read a review of Carol latest book click on the title
Death and the Dancing Snowman