Immerse yourself in a suspense-filled mystery with Caleb Mason's Thickafog. After his father is kicked out of an assisted living facility in Florida, Jon Davis, an alcoholic carpenter, has no choice but to take him into his home on Archer Island off the coast of Maine. Jon's father, Bobby, is an eighty-five-year-old happy-go-lucky man with an insatiable lust for life. Soon after his arrival, Bobby falls in love with an incredible woman named Ingrid Backlund. But Ingrid has dementia, and her children think Bobby is a golddigger. When Bobby is found dead, state police suspect it's murder, and Jon becomes one of the prime suspects. Meanwhile, Jon takes a down-on-his-luck teenager under his wing and begins a relationship with a woman named Linda. With drug smugglers wreaking havoc on the island, can Jon catch his father's killer?

Cozy mystery aficionados will find a lot to love about Thickafog. From the salt of the earth characters to the coastal island setting of New England, in addition to an intricately woven and immersive plot, everything is crafted with meticulous attention to detail in this riveting drama. Author Caleb Mason uses a large cast of characters, and they bring such a vibrant and dynamic atmosphere to the setting that you feel like you're reading about real people and their lives. The relationships were the highlights of the book for me. Whether it's Jon and Bobby's father-son dynamic, Bobby and Ingrid's love story, or Jon and Charlie's father/mentor-son/apprentice relationship, the character interactions keep you entertained all the way through. Furthermore, readers are bound to be surprised by the ending. All in all, it's a fantastic mystery.

In the novel Thickafog by Caleb Mason, Jon Davis details the final months of his father, Bobby, who at 85 moves in with Jon on Archer Island after being kicked out of an assisted living facility. Despite their strained relationship, Jon cares for Bobby, who forms a bond with Ingrid Backlund, a reclusive islander. Issues pop up as Bobby's behavior and deteriorating health complicate his life and relationships, particularly with Ingrid’s son, Kevin. After Bobby's death, Jon is implicated in the murder as his fingerprints are found on a (suspected) weapon used in Bobby’s death. The fallout is fast as Jon faces public scrutiny, and he proceeds to uncover some of his father’s entanglements and local criminal activities. Meanwhile, a series of mysterious deaths and a drug operation on the island intensify the sense of danger and distrust among the community, further complicating Jon's position.

Thickafog: An Archer Island Mystery by Caleb Mason is a uniquely atmospheric story that offers the triple threat of toxic family problems, crime, and life in a painfully small town. I like that the waters in Jon and Bobby's relationship are choppy and felt that this not only made it feel authentic but also had us wondering in the back of our minds whether or not Jon is reliable. The writing is sharp, and Mason's strength is in making Archer Island almost become a character in its own right. There is credibility to the isolation of a place amplifying the chatter. Although the tying up of the did-he-or-didn't-he with Jon happens at a speed that counters the rest of the slow-burn quality of the story, what follows is completely unexpected, well-considered, and a richly lathered-up, satisfying second layer. Very highly recommended.