LOST IN THE CRUSH

In Yocum’s mystery, “stop the presses” becomes “stop the wedding” when a former reporter’s fiance mysteriously disappears on the day of their nuptials.

The author’s third installment of his Cape Cod Mystery series begins with a scream; it is a scream of joy, expressed when Stacie Davis accepts her boyfriend Carl Lane’s proposal on Lighthouse Beach. But, as a police captain observes, “Wedding season on Cape Cod can be unpredictable.” Sure enough, six months later on their wedding day, Carl is not to be found. The situation grows curiouser when security footage captures an image of Carl in the early morning hours after the rehearsal dinner walking down the street holding an unseen woman’s hand. Adding even more tension and intrigue, police officer—and former flame of Stacie—Dan Yellen reaches out to the would-be bride on Facebook with an offer to track down Carl. The bits of news she receives are not encouraging: The night before the wedding, Carl sold his truck and his boat and announced he was getting out of the charter boat business. Desperate for an explanation, she reaches out to Carl’s ex-wife and to his 12-year-old daughter; one restraining order later, she accepts Dan’s offer, and together they head to Florida, where a confrontation will yield more questions than answers, including a confession about involvement in a presumed murder. The narrative takes several hard left turns as Stacie seeks closure for her wedding day devastation. Yocum is as interested in exploring the interpersonal relationships between Stacie and her family, co-workers, friends, and Carl’s perplexed loved ones as he is in teasing out the secrets and lies driving the plot. Still, the twists come fast and furious as this mystery careens to its conclusion and the “brilliant” Stacie proves herself willing to step over some lines that readers may not have thought her capable of crossing. They’ll end this book eager to see what she does next.

A mystery and character study that satisfies and surprises right to the final page.