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Covenant Hall by Kathryn R. Wall

Ninth Book in the Bay Tanner Mystery Series

Aug 28, 2009 Rosalie Thompson

Bay Tanner weaves together another tale of mystery and intrigue as she searches for the biological father of an ill child. The search leads to a family secret of her own.

Bay Tanner has been captivating readers since she started her "inquiry agency" after the murder of her husband Rob. Bay was severely injured in the plane explosion that took Rob's life, the pivotal event in Kathryn Wall's first Bay Tanner mystery, In for a Penny.

From that initial mystery, published in 2001, Kathryn Wall has allowed her readers to follow Bay Tanner as she struggled to move forward in her life, ever mindful of her social and family responsibilities.

From coping with the loss of her husband in the initial book, Bay has evolved into a strong and caring woman, tackling the problems and sometimes the injustices of the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Covenant Hall is Ninth Bay Tanner Mystery

In Covenant Hall, Bay is hired by a young mother, Joline Eastman, to find her estranged family. Her daughter Kimmie is in need of a bone marrow transplant and the clues to the present location of her family are small. A few old water-damaged letters and a single photograph are all the clues Bay has to Joline's past.

As Bay struggles to save the child, her own world is jarred when her father, retired Judge Talbot Simpson, is hospitalized. As Bay searches through his papers, she discovers a fact about her family that has been hidden from her. That sets her on a path to solve two mysteries; both time sensitive and eventually intertwined.

Fans of the series will notice a change in Bay's relationship with her brother-in-law, Beaufort County Deputy "Red" Tanner. She has learned to trust him more with details of her investigations and seek his help. Their complicated personal relationship, still unsettled at times, undergoes more changes in Covenant Hall.

About Hilton Head Mystery Writer Kathryn R. Wall

Kathryn Wall moved to Hilton Head Island, SC, from Ohio where she had worked for 25 years as an accountant. In 2001 she self published the first Bay Tanner mystery, In For A Penny. Like an event from one of her books, an editor for St. Martin's Press was visiting nearby Beaufort, SC, and was introduced by a relative to the book. A month later they offered Wall a hardcover contract.

The author uses local landmarks, restaurants, airports and even traffic situations in her book. She attempts to weave a thread of social responsibility such as environmental and immigration issues into her stories. The tenth Bay Tanner book, Canaan's Gate, will be released in 2010.

Title: Covenant Hall

Author: Kathryn R. Wall

Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur, 320 pgs., $24.95

ISBN: 13: 9780312375355

Kathryn Wall Website

The copyright of the article Covenant Hall by Kathryn R. Wall in Mystery/Crime Fiction is owned by Rosalie Thompson. Permission to republish Covenant Hall by Kathryn R. Wall in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.