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The Find by Marilyn Jax Beaver's Pond Press
book review by L. Alonso
"Like an invisible net, an eerie silence fell upon the assemblage as one by one the workers made their way to the cavity and caught sight of the find."
A fraud investigator for the state of Florida, Claire Caswell is known for being meticulous, intuitive, and unwavering. Boasting fifteen years of investigative experience, her reputation and competence are irrefutable. When human remains are accidentally unearthed at the bottom of one of her dig sites, Claire is forced to return abruptly from a long anticipated Caribbean getaway in order to head the investigation in Miami—an investigation that is quickly ruled a homicide more than forty years old.
Working alongside her lover and partner, the well respected Miami-Dade State Attorney, Gaston Lombard, Claire is drawn into an intricate tapestry of overlapping tales. These multifaceted stories lead to unlikely connections between a Nazi death camp survivor and a decades old smuggling mystery and ultimately to Claire herself. Spanning the better part of a century and traversing three continents, these mysteries will challenge her wits, expectations, and ultimately her own safety.
The Find fully engages the reader with its elaborate and well executed plot. Jax does a formidable job populating her novel with a bevy of rich and appealing characters, each painted in remarkable and vivid detail. Accordingly the settings are painstakingly drawn, engaging the five senses with each thorough description. The parallel story lines tug at the reader, enthralling not only with the unexpected snakes and turns of a masterful mystery, but enchanting as well with its real and sympathetic heroes and villains alike. Jax's in depth knowledge of World War II history, law enforcement and investigative techniques lend credibility to an already mesmerizing tale, one that is sure to satisfy to the end.