The Secrets of Still Waters Chasm - (Ohnita Harbor) by Patricia Crisafulli (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

On a beautiful September afternoon, a hike through the pristine wild of Still Waters Chasm become a path of mystery and deadly danger for Gabriela Domenici and her boyfriend, Daniel Red Deer. First, they take a side trail to an inexplicable construction site in the middle of the woods, where every tree has been cut down and a huge truck bearing strange-looking equipment is parked in the middle. As they continue their hike to the lake, they find a man convulsing with his last breaths, not far from the lifeless body of a woman. After going for help, Gabriela and Daniel return to the scene--only to find the two people and their canoe and gear are gone. It seems impossible that two bodies could revive and leave on their own, but there is no other explanation.

When she conducts a library outreach program in the rural Town of Livery, near Still Waters Chasm, Gabriela discovers a community that is both curious and suspicious. There, she meets Lucinda Nanz, an herbalist whose encyclopedic knowledge of plants for help and harm is both fascinating and troubling, and Wendy Haughton, a young woman who desperately wants to sell an old drawing of unknown origin so she can escape her abusive husband. Despite the state police's warnings to stay out of the investigation, and Daniel's urging to not get involved, Gabriela cannot stay away from Livery and Still Waters Chasm--which puts her on a collision course with yet another murder and people who will stop at nothing to prevent her from getting too close to the truth that could destroy chasm.

Review Quotes

"If Crisafulli keeps setting... mystery thrillers in Ohnita Harbor (and I hope she will), that fictional little Upstate New York town... will be as famous as Louise Penny's Three Pines or even Agatha Christie's St. Mary Mead--and justifiably so." --Jean Zorn, Publisher, Persimmon Tree

"Patricia Crisafulli holds us spellbound as her... librarian-protagonist, Gabriela, stumbles onto a mysterious crime scene and is determined to find answers. As Gabriela's amateur sleuthing leads her into spine-chilling danger, you'll be up reading until all hours of the morning." --Nancy Crochiere, Author of Graceland: A Novel

About the Author

Patricia Crisafulli is an award-winning New York Times best-selling author. Her debut novel, The Secrets of Ohnita Harbor, the first in the Ohnita Harbor Mystery Series, was published in September 2022 by Woodhall Press. She received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Northwestern University, where she received the Distinguished Thesis Award in Creative Writing. She is also the recipient of a grand prize for fiction from TallGrass Writers Guild/Outrider Press, as well as five Write Well Awards from the Silver Pen Association for her short stories. Patricia is the author of a collection of short stories and essays titled Inspired Every Day: Essays and Stories to Brighten Your Day, Give You Hope, and Strengthen Your Faith, published by Hallmark. In addition, she is the author of New York Times best-seller House of Dimon: How J.P. Morgan's Jamie Dimon Rose to the Top of the Financial World (John Wiley & Sons, 2009), and the coauthor of Rwanda, Inc: How a Devastated Nation Became an Economic Model for the Developing World (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2012), an Editor's Choice book on Amazon. Patricia is also the founder of www.FaithHopeandFiction.com, a popular e-literary magazine that features original fiction, essays, and poetry.