Book description
Laurel Beach is one of the last old-fashioned villages in the West
Florida panhandle, one that has, so far, escaped commercial
over-development. It presents both a haven and opportunity, and, this
summer, it plays host to a varied cast. Grief has nearly destroyed
Hudson DeForest. He's barely been going through the motions, teaching in
a Memphis girls school, writing about film, talking to the dog. He's
hanging on by a thread. It's been two years since Kate died, two years
of grappling with profound loss, with the impact of the marriage of a
lifetime cut short. Hudson's friend Charlie Brompton, the successful
developer and restaurateur, is facing a different loss. He's growing
old. It's time for him to let go of his most beloved enterprise, the
mecca of fine dining known as the 26-A after the panhandle highway where
it sits. And of its funky adjunct, The Blue Bar. With no immediate
family as heirs, Charlie's considering his choice of successors. And
what he should do for his godson, Chaz? He also wonders if Hudson will
return to Laurel Beach, to the cottage he occupied with Kate. Will
Hudson ever forgive him? Meanwhile Chaz has met Sydney, a former
actress. They're living well in Atlanta, thinking about marriage.
Thinking, too, that perhaps they should go to Laurel Beach, touch base
with Charlie.... As Hudson settles in and doggedly takes up his summer
project-he has a book contract for a collection of his film reviews-the
undying past and a present struggling to be born exert their fierce, and
sometimes indistinguishable, claims. So it is for Charlie, and for
Sydney and Chaz. Gradually a bizarre maelstrom of deceit, betrayal, and
murder evolves in Laurel Beach, ensnaring the wealthy and the beautiful,
the misguided and the desperate. Will its force fill Hudson with
newfound determination to celebrate life-or will it destroy those he
still holds dear? Grief-stricken teacher and film critic, Hudson
DeForest, returns to the cottage he shared with his late wife, Kate, in
Laurel Beach, Florida to heal and start life over. He is preparing for
his job as teacher at a Memphis girls' school. His best friend, Charles
Brompton, is preparing for retirement and making decisions as to how to
leave his restaurant and bar. He plans to leave his property to his
cousin and boyhood friend, attorney Peter Cullen. Peter writes to
Charles, telling him not to leave his property to his godson, Chaz.
Chaz, who is now married to an actress, finds the letter and sets out to
claim what they consider his rightful inheritance. With Terry Main, a
disgruntled restaurant employee, he enters into a conspiracy which ends
in murder. A first novel, this is well written with a complex plot and
memorable characters, their weaknesses fully portrayed. The
relationships between the characters are well-developed, touching on all
the deceits and betrayals and the resulting effects. The description of
the Florida Gulf Coast is so vivid it makes the reader feel its
atmosphere and landscapes as though he were experiencing them himself.
Hadley Hury teaches literature, writing, and film studies, and is a
former film critic and the author of both short fiction and poetry. He
and his wife live in Memphis and on San Juan Island, Washington. He is
currently at work on the next Hudson DeForest mystery. The Edge of the
Gulf is his debut novel.
