Salt Girl

Seahouses Mystery Book 3

Fiction - Mystery - General
325 Pages
Reviewed on 05/11/2023
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Delene Vrey for Readers' Favorite

While Izzy is in the process of renovating her and Jake’s new forever home, they uncover the remains of a girl. Izzy is still struggling to deal with the loss of her sister and the new role she has to play in the lives of her nieces and nephew; however, she is caught up in investigating the girl’s identity with Diana Wheeler. Diana feels it is her responsibility to help find out what happened to the bright girl that has now come to be known as the Salt Girl. Their snooping leads to secrets that the murderer is keen to keep hidden. They come across a diary that could reveal the identity of the murderer. Will Izzy and Diana be able to figure out the mystery and help DI Bell solve the Salt Girl case, or will the murderer get away?

Salt Girl (Seahouses Mystery Book 3) by Katherine Graham combines the cozy mystery and suspense genres. Izzy and Diana take on the gossiping and tight-knit community of Seahouses to try to solve a two-decades-old mystery. Through their investigation, Izzy and Diana deal with their struggles. Finding the answers to Kelly’s mystery seems crucial for her to find closure. Diana, on the other hand, struggles with the threat of dementia in her old age. In her nineties, she is still very active and can be seen as a busybody in the village. After teaching for 40 years at St. Helens, she feels invested in the young women that went through her hands during her teaching career. She especially fears that she failed Kelly and the term “fallen through the cracks” seems like an unacceptable excuse for people not doing their jobs. Salt Girl takes a hard look at the care system and the constraints funds and manpower have on the priority of looking for “runaways” close to 18, giving closure and finding culprits in cold cases.

Alma Boucher

Salt Girl is a mystery story by Katherine Graham. A newly engaged couple bought a house in Seahouses. The couple’s builder is busy with renovations when he discovers a skull. The victim is a teenage girl buried in a quantity of salt. Izzy wants to know who is responsible for the teenager's death. It would appear that the police are not making much effort to investigate the twenty-year-old crime. Izzy is approached by Diana, a retired teacher, who offers her help in finding out what happened to the girl. Diana remembers the teenager and feels responsible for what happened because she didn't pay more attention to her. However, Diana’s memory is not what it used to be, and some clues keep eluding her. Will Izzy and Diana be able to find out what happened to the girl?

The plot in Salt Girl is planned and executed brilliantly. Katherine Graham creates a fast-paced mystery that is set in a small town. I was interested that the girl was buried in a large amount of salt. I kept turning the pages and could not put it down. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. I had to know what would happen next. The characters are authentic and relatable. My favorite character is Izzy. She is determined to discover why the girl was killed and who was responsible. The story is well-written and had me engaged from the start. The major twist at the end was a big surprise. It was unexpected, and I did not see it coming.

Anne-Marie Reynolds

Salt Girl by Katherine Graham is the third book in the Seahouses Mystery series. There’s a body buried under Izzy’s conservatory, that of a teenager who ran away. Who buried her there and why was she buried in a hole full of salt? The girl disappeared 20 years ago and the police weren’t interested, so Izzy decided that she would investigate. She got together with Diana, a retired schoolteacher who doesn’t have the best memory. Diana knows who the girl was and even knows why she ran away – she just can’t remember. Who in this wonderful, quiet village is hiding a dark secret? Why was the girl killed and will Diana remember the past so they can solve the mystery?

Salt Girl by Katherine Graham is a wonderful story about two amateur sleuths who set out to solve an old mystery. It does make references to previous books in the series, but all the books can be read as standalone tales. The story has plenty of twists and turns, but the clues are there – you just have to spot them. The characters are lovely and authentic people you get to know well and can relate to, and you’ll be behind them all the way through. This isn’t a high-octane story but it is nicely paced, with a good, intriguing plot, and no gratuitous violence. It is perfect for an afternoon’s reading and a nice way to escape the harsh realities of life. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series and losing myself in a beautiful setting.