A hurricane is bearing down on Nantucket as detective Merry Folger prepares for her wedding day. The caretakers for the small island of Tuckernuck off the edge of Nantucket are tasked with evacuating those who are still on the isolated island. The storm (referenced as being similar to the perfect storm in the 90's) a missing yacht, police politics and a small island at risk combine for a fast paced read. ( )

If you’re looking for a police procedural that has elements of the cozy – a picturesque small-town setting, a lack of gore and violence, and even wedding plans – but without puns in the title, domestic hints, or cloying whimsey, the Merry Folger Nantucket series might fit the bill. Meredith Folger is a dedicated cop, following int the footsteps of her father and grandfather to serve the residents of Nantucket and the exclusive (and reclusive) residents of a small neighboring island, Tuckernuck.

In the sixth entry in the series, Merry is preparing for her wedding, but her husband-to-be knows the job comes first if the hurricane headed toward the New England coast takes aim at their island. What neither of them realizes is that, as the winds pick up, she will have to commandeer a Coast Guard helicopter to reach a crime scene. A man and a woman have been shot on a luxury yacht that has grounded on the rocks just of Tuckernuck Island. Only one of them survived, but is in coma, so can’t explain what happened.

Meanwhile, Dionis Mather and her elderly father, who are caretakers for the reclusive and wealthy seasonal residents of Tuckernuck, hurry to board up windows and bring summer residents off the island ahead of the threatening storm. When circumstances strand Dionis on the island during the storm, she hurries to bring two valuable horses to safety and encounters a stranger with a gunshot wound.

Mathews brings the setting to crackling life in this semi-cozy thrill ride of a mystery.

If you want to read books that make you feel as though you're experiencing life on Nantucket Island, you need to read Francine Mathew's Merry Folger series. It also goes without saying that, if you want to "experience" a hurricane without actually living through one, you need to read Death on Tuckernuck.

The mystery is a cracker. Readers have a little inside knowledge that characters like Dionis and Merry don't-- how many people were on board that yacht for instance-- but that's certainly not enough to put all the pieces together until Merry's hard work begins to pay off. (And that hard work of hers will pay off in unexpected ways.) The only real question is: Is the wedding still on despite a murder investigation and a hurricane?

That you will have to find out for yourself, and you are going to enjoy yourself while doing so. New to the series? I'll be honest with you. I've read only three books in this series, the first and the most recent two, and I haven't felt lost. But the setting is superb and the characters and stories so strong that you might just want to start with the first, Death in the Off-Season and enjoy the sea breeze along with a murder or two. ( )