Maritime mystery rife with nostalgia

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2023 (1220 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In his quaint debut novel Closer by Sea, author Perry Chafe spins a literary mystery involving coming-of-age, childhood friendships, death and adventure on a small island off the coast of Newfoundland. Although billed as a thriller and containing a few modest scares, Closer poses no threat to anyone with blood pressure or insomnia issues.

Originally hailing from a small fishing community in Newfoundland, Chafe is a television writer, showrunner and producer who has worked on the CBC TV series Republic of Doyle and Son of a Critch, among other productions. Chase’s TV background influences his writing style: Closer by Sea often reads like The Goonies reimagined as a CBC made-for-TV movie that has been parlayed into a novel.

The novel is set in the 1990s, as the Perigo Island fishery is on the cusp of collapse. It follows that the novel is the most engaging in passages depicting 12-year-old Pierce Jacob’s cherished island life: the wonder of the nearby glaciers, the minutiae of the fishing industry and the freedom of kids set loose on ATVs from morning to night during summer (without cellphones). Closer by Sea is in rockier waters when dealing with the central mystery of a teenager, Anna Tessier, who has gone missing.

When Pierce is eight, his fisherman father goes missing at sea. Devastated, Pierce meets Anna during a failed solo attempt to go looking for his dad. Pierce and Anna develop a kindred-spirit-level bond, despite only crossing paths a few times. The whole island joins in the search and when Anna doesn’t turn up, the adults speculate she has run away to the mainland (again). Pierce ardently believes Anna couldn’t have run away; she had promised him that she wouldn’t. He convinces his pals, Thomas and Bennie, that they must find out what’s happened to Anna themselves since the adults don’t take them seriously.

The boys are joined by Bennie’s cousin Emily, who has come from New York City to spend the summer. Together, they plot to investigate a reclusive outsider newly living on the island, Solomon Vickers.

Stakeouts, breaking-and-entering and other shenanigans ensue as the group tries to uncover what this weird old guy is hiding at his dilapidated compound in the woods. Boo Radley can’t help but come to mind, although there’s nothing good to be gained by comparing Closer by Sea to To Kill a Mockingbird.

While the team looks for evidence of Solomon’s involvement in Anna’s disappearance, the boys’ dynamic is threatened when Emily and Pierce grow closer. Cue an angry and jealous Thomas and a grossed-out Bennie. Can the foursome stick together to solve this mystery, despite their shifting loyalties and the allure of Solomon’s cryptic offers? Can they survive the sadistic gang of local bullies who are out to get them? Oh, and can they also finish re-building Pierce’s dad’s boat so Pierce can carry on the fisher legacy in his stead?

Mini spoiler alert: all issues are resolved, although the discovery of what happened to Anna is upstaged by the complication of a sea turtle locked in a church. (Actually, the plight of the sea turtle is pretty much the only surprising plot twist in this novel crammed with competing themes.)

Closer by Sea is a solid choice for anyone looking for a light summer mystery read sweetened by hefty doses of tenderness and nostalgia. Unlike the glaciers, though, don’t expect too much below the surface.

Brandi Field is a Winnipeg lawyer with an MA in English literature.