The Howling Cliffs

Sara Mason Mysteries #2

by Mary Deal

Sara Mason joins in searching for Huxley's MIA brother's remains in the Vietnam jungle. She is joined by her friend Esmerelda.

Later in Hawaii, Sara learns that a six-year-old neighborhood girl had gone missing ten years earlier. Something odd is going on at the nearby forest cliffs; someone wants this cold case to stay cold.

But even after attempts are made on Sara's life, she pushes on with the investigation and pursues the leads that take her on a path of danger. Can she solve the mystery of the Howling Cliffs?

Praise from

"Detailed and rich, the descriptions of Kauai made me feel like I was really there, and I became totally absorbed in the atmosphere. As a history buff, I thoroughly enjoyed the historical aspect of Vietnam as well the behind the scenes forensics. Howling Cliffs is a must read for all mystery fans." - Kim Murphy, Amazon Review

"There is great depth to both her characters and locations that many books lack... Another wonderful mystery by Mary Deal." - Hilary H. Hall, Amazon Review

Genres: Mystery

521 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 27, 2012

About the author

Mary Deal is an Amazon International bestselling, award-winning, multi-genre author of suspense/thrillers, romance, a short story collection, writers’ references, and self-help. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee, Artist and Photographer, and former newspaper columnist and magazine editor. After losing her beloved partner of 31 years, she is has written a memoir about surviving the grief period. That book is meant to help others and is due out in a few weeks.

She has traveled and has a lifetime of diverse experiences, all of which remain in memory as fodder for her fiction. A native of California’s Sacramento River Delta, where some of her stories are set, she has lived in England, the Caribbean, the Hawaiian Islands, and now resides in Garner, No. Carolina. Also, her paintings and photography are used to create gorgeous personal and household products.

Her Website:
http://www.marydeal.com

Amazon Author Page: http://tinyurl.com/3z8pm31

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/MaryDeal

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Deal has become one of those authors whose books always deliver strong story, memorable characters, and beautiful narrative that's easy to read and highly engaging. The Howling Cliffs, the second book in her 'Sara Mason Mysteries' series is the sixth book I've read in the last two years from her growing list of works. Between the title and the cover, it's no wonder I loved the book, but I've also been reading several books with tropical locations such as Hawaii in the last few weeks. I've apparently got a theme going...

Sara has had a hard life, but she is a survivor and will never back away from a challenge. Months after solving a major crime involving a serial killer in the last book, she heads back to Vietnam to search for MIA heroes for two close friends: Esmerelda, a widow whose husband was murdered in the first book, and Huxley, Sara's potential future husband soon. Esmerelda's daughter never returned from her medical mission. Huxley's brother, a strong leader of his group, also disappeared. Both are surely gone, killed in action during the awful Vietnam War from decades earlier. After finding a few scattered remains, the crew heads back to California (and other places) to see if they can find a DNA match. Sara returns to Hawaii where she's renovating a house for travelers to stay when going back and forth on missions to Vietnam. She's also visiting old and new friends and recuperating from a tough few years. Only it's gonna get worse.

Some neighbors welcome her. Some do not. She's an outsider, a haole, not of Hawaii'n birth. But it's one neighbor, an angry and distant young man who lost his sister to a predator ~12 years ago when she was a child, whom attracts Sara's focus. She wants to solve the cold case, and in doing so, digs up several secrets and lots of dirt somebody wants to remain buried. Through a series of near-death experiences, Sara explores her neighboring town's beautiful landscape, researches and investigates the case, and tries to understand what makes the weird noise coming from the nearby cliffs. The Howling Cliffs is part-mystery, part-chronicle of life suspense. We follow Sara through several key changes in her life as she decides what she wants to do next. She's a strong female lead with solid intuition and a zest for helping others. Admirable on many levels, she's also forgetful about protecting herself. We see her deal with a little bit of pain and remorse, but also her desire (and need) to find new friends, like her neighbor who helps in the search for the child killer from twelve years earlier.

Deal's novels handle complex, emotional experiences and tragedies while keeping a tight grip on the plot. We easily bounce from the main mystery to all the sub-plots that weave throughout the book, knowing it will come together, and thirsting for what's the surprise waiting for us in the end. The author's own life experience and knowledge of various remote parts of the world make the dialog, setting, and descriptions not only real but vivid and lively. You believe you're trapped in a jungle with snakes and danger. You think the mudslide has trapped you in its grip. You enjoy the entire ride and feel satisfied with the ending. I'm really excited that she's writing a third book in this series, which will have a takeoff from a plot in this book. I love when an author keeps those connections, and I'll be the first in line to get a copy when it's released. Thanks for another winner, Mary Deal.

[Bobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good thriller/ mystery. I highly recommend it. This book is the second one in this award-winning series that began with our Main character Sara Mason returning to her hometown, and finding a mystery about murders where the killer is stalking her. The Howling Cliffs could be read as a stand-alone book too, but I'd recommend reading both books. The Howling Cliffs begins with Sara Mason going a search mission for MIAS in Vietnam's jungles with her fiance Huxley. From there,this Sara goes to Kaiau, Hawaii to establish a home for Veterans there. However, in Hawaii too she finds mysterious things going on, and murder. It looks like the killer thinks she knows too much and is out to kill her. The title comes from the area of cliffs where if a dog goes to, it will howl there. Could it be the dog senses something that we humans are not aware of? What I liked most about this book, is the way the author carefully develops her characters esp those of Sara Mason and her sweetheart Huxley. I also really enjoyed how Deal uses local color, tradition, and customs I'm telling her story..For example, in one part Sara is making a fruit salad of all kinds of tropical fruits. In fact, the only three I knew we're star fruit, guava, and papaya. It reminded me of when I had the pleasure of going to Open International Market in the French Quarters. They had such an array of colorful fruits I had never seen before! Check this out for an edge of your seat read. I know you'll enjoy it!

[J.M. Northup · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Enjoyable Read That Will Keep You Guessing!
I really love the writing style of Mary Deal! I love the detail she uses to bring the world her tales are set in to life. She brings a rich picture to the canvas and draws me in, giving me everything I need to fully envision the landscape and people she is describing.
I really enjoyed the mystery and suspense of this novel. It was a good story line that keep my interest and provoked me to keep guessing who, what, and where... I also loved the protagonist, Sara. She is a likable character and her friendship with Birdie is one of my favorite aspects of the novel! I like the positive and empowering way the female characters are portrayed!
I am looking forward to reading Mary's next book!

[P.S. Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 2 in the series but can be read as a stand alone. It is also a great mystery read. I love the character of Sara Mason. She is a no-nonsense lady who seems to always find herself in trouble. You might say she gets what she looks for because as a person who tries to find those missing in action of course their is great adventure. In this book, Sara finds herself not only looking for MIA's but when she goes to Hawaii, Sara finds herself looking for a missing young girl. The author twists this mystery and blends it with a great adventure and an amazing backdrop for the tale.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Closure

Mary Deal writes of haunting memories left in families of MIA soldiers, unsolved cold cases of missing persons and altruistic gifts to truly help those in need. The Sara Mason mysteries have kept me spellbound and sleepless. I would give them more STARS if I could.

[Mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, this author starts off slow. Don’t let her fool you as she slowly builds the tension. Our heroine is in Vietnam with a group that includes her lover and an elderly friend from her hometown. Her love is looking for the remains of his brother, her friend for her daughter’s .remains. They find part of a gold chain and part of dog tag. Remains? Back in Hawaii where Sara has a second home, she learns her neighbor is strange. Maleko became that way when his sister Leia went missing. The mother has fled to the mainland and not heard from again, Of course, Sara begins to investigate. Then some huge black pickup truck runs her off the road and someone paints a threat on her house in blood. Is it Maleko or is it the skulking neighbor across the street? Then someone runs her off the road. She is almost recovered when she is shoved over a cliff. She vows to find Leia’s killer and the one who is trying to kill her. There is also the complication of another attractive male. Who tried twice to murder her? The off-centered vile tempered brother of Leia? The noisy neighbor who continues to watch her? The son of their guide in Vietnam? The man lives and works on the islands and his oldest son is a friend of Leia’s brother. Why hasn’t her mother kept in touch with the son? The suspense grows as you keep trying to flip the pages faster. Then a horrific accident happens and the neighbor’s dog insists there is another body buried. Will the murderer be caught? Will Sara’s friend ever discover her daughter’s remains? What of Huxley’s missing in action brother? This one will keep you up at night if you aren’t careful.

[Sahara Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was initially drawn to this book because of Vietnam and the search for the remaining MIA American soldiers. When I was in high school, we used to wear bracelets representing the POW’s that were being held while the conflict was still ongoing. I have no idea if the person I wore on my wrist every came back. Then I met my late husband who had served three tours in Nam. He had also been a POW and was one of the lucky ones that escaped. So the concept of this story resonated with me.

The book starts with Sara, Huxley and Esmeralda deep in the Vietnam jungle, searching for the remains of his brother and her daughter. They are with a group of other people searching for remains of their own loved ones. Mary Deal does an excellent job setting the stage and I became involved with the characters as they stumbled upon a few golden links and a barely legible, partial dog tag. Who did it belong too?

The main story starts when Sara returns to her new home in Hawaii, and becomes involved in a cold case disappearance or murder of a girl who suffered from Down’s syndrome. And the girl that disappeared was the sister of her reclusive, psycho neighbor Maleko. As Sara searches for the truth, she is faced with death several times, as the killer tries to eliminate her.

This story is rich with the history and layout of Hawaii and its culture. A little too much for me. The pace of the story died with too much information. But once the action started, it was so fast paced, I couldn’t keep up. And there’s plenty of action. I loved Sara and her strong-willed nature. And I adored her other neighbor, Birdie. We should all have someone like that in our lives.

I thought the ending for the murder mystery a little confusing and anit-climatic, but that was only one ending. The real ending, that made me bawl like a baby, was the identity of the person behind the partial dog tag. Even though I guessed it, the presentation was so well-written that I had to cry for their loss and acceptance.

If you’re intrigued with Vietnam / Hawaii and you love mysteries, drama and action, you’ll want to read this book. I give it 4 feathers.

[Berk Rourke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This page turner held my attention for a continuous read today after briefly starting yesterday evening (July 3-4). I have read the entire book and the reviews as I often do before reviewing any book I read. Here are some comments about reviewing a book. First I think anyone who does not read the entire book is both a fool and a troll if they offer a review. In that respect this book starts and ends with Sara's and Huxley's on-going search for the remains of MIAs in Vietnam. Thus it ties itself together front to end while engaging through the rest of the book in a Sara Mason mystery that is an attention grabber to say the least. Secondly, about reviewing, I start every read with the idea that the author deserves my approval simply because they have had the courage and the creative juices to do the hard work of putting a book before the world. The author or the publisher must persuade me to reduce my five star initial review, my starting point. Nothing in this book persuades me to lessen my initial outlook. Finally, I seldom offer any information about the actual story I have read because to do so ruins the read for others. So I will not tell you what this story divulges. I will say that the characters are beautifully created so they seem real as you read this fictional story. The content deals with difficult topics which most authors choose to ignore and does so in a manner befitting an actual investigation of criminal activity. If there are criticisms to be offered they might relate to the notions a trad editor would apply to this book. This is not a trad publication, but an Indie publication. That does not forgive errors by authors or their publishers, but the errors in this book are so miniscule in nature and so difficult to see that only a trad editor would and has trolled this story. IT IS A WORTHY BOOK, A WORTHY READ YOU SHOULD NOT IGNORE. I enjoyed it immensely. Few books hold my attention as well as this one did. A great read.

[Peter Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hypnotically engaging, a cracking read.

What is it that I like so much about the Mary Deal books? Not just the excellent stories. She writes hypnotic central protagonists with often subtle motivation; not police or private detectives, but characters that sometimes stumble into a captivating plot. One such is Howling Cliffs, the second in the Sara Mason series.
Sara is a Games software designer that has, almost by accident, become deft at solving cold cases, murder, disappearances etc. Whilst Howling Cliffs stands alone as a tremendous read, I would recommend reading book 1, River Bones, first. It will give you a greater insight into the character, Sara Mason. This time Mason is on a small island in Hawaii and becomes wrapped up in a historic case of a missing Down syndrome child; my heart was immediately tugged just before it began rapid palpitations as the plot thickened. It is Sara’s fascination with the case that leads to at first, harassment and, escalating to attempts on her life.
In this book the scene moves from the California Delta to a small island of Hawaii, where Sara Mason is setting up a home, a sort of a halfway house for misplaced, returning or MIA veterans – this is just a back story that contributes to the delightfully complex narrative and why Mason is in Hawaii.
All of this would be good, but Deal adds more. Her wonderful secondary characters, for me, make this a truly excellent read. Birdie Crew, a feisty elderly woman neighbour. A mysterious and also elderly, Chinese couple, who live opposite the new home. All weave their own stories into the core narrative making this a colourfully deep story. I think Birdie and the Chinese couple have a story in them, along with a patrol officer who takes the harassment claims seriously.
And the mystery of the howling cliffs? Read the book and you will find out - it is a gem.
I have read many books by Mary Deal and I long to read more. I not only recommend books 1 and 2 of this series, I recommend you look up other books by Mary Deal. I have already purchased my next read, Sea Cliffs.

[Kenna McKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of action and intrigue, not a lot of surprises as to whodunnit but there are a few twists. The character development is excellent. There are really two threads to the story, one takes place in Vietnam looking for missing in action veterans, and the other in Hawaii locating long missing bodies and a present danger to Sara, who is hot on the trail of the perps. Huxley, her love interest, is mostly not present in this tale and that's a nice twist as well, as it gives Sara time to develop her character and interests on her own. Huxley is portrayed still as a caring and very three dimensional persona in his own right.

The action flags at times with details but the color and depth these give the obvious research gives a gritty and very true to life nature to the jungles of Vietnam, the treatment of women by the Vietcong, the American presence in Vietnam including the devastating effects of chemicals like Agent Orange, and the long lasting effects of war and MIA personnel on the survivors and loved ones who simply long for resolution.

Again, in Hawaii, the descriptions and character development are intricate and seem to be the result of the author's longstanding familiarity with the islands and again, thorough research and interest in the psychology of human beings and animals. There is a sympathetic dog character, very well done.

As a writer and reader, one can learn a lot from this author.

[Marcia Feese]

Haunting mysteries mount

Well, this author put me in a quandrywith this mesmerizing tale. I found myself rushing to finish it because I couldn't stand the suspense, but wanting to drag by feet because I didn't want it to end. I found her characters well fleshed out and engaging. I want a neighbor like her endearingBirdie. The authors skillful descriptions of unfamiliar places (to me) left me feeling i had traveled to distant climes. She wrote knowledgably and enchantingly of her beloved Hawaii. Vietnam Nam was also hauntingly described. The mysteries unfoldednicely rushing toward the satisfying conclusion. I can't wait to read the third book in the series. But when it ends and all the mysteries solved, I will be sad when its over. Well done!

[Joanie Chevalier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a who-dunnit read, with an obvious (to me anyway) suspect from the get-go. It seems like parts of the story could have been moved around for easier reading, since I didn't read the first book, and this continues the story of their Vietnam search and then takes off with only Sara trying to figure out who's making her life miserable in Hawaii. So, after this confusion, I got into the story and it was okay to spend some time with it. I likes how it ties up in the end.

[Deborah McClatchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Mary's previous suspenseful book River Bones, I had to read The Howling Cliffs and was not disappointed. It’s a thrilling read, and I couldn’t put it down. I love the character Sara Mason and her neighbor, Birdie, is a dear. Her amazing K9 is unforgettable. The suspenseful murder mystery keeps you on edge, and I am not giving any spoilers here. I highly recommend this series and give it five stars. I am looking forward to reading Book 3 in this series.

[Teresa G Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worse than the first

This author must not re-read these books. What a cluster. This story contained what should have been at LEAST 2 different books and a travel guide. Also very bad editing. The endings are always very flimsy too. Very weak.

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply Thought Provoking

dealing with a topic that is deeply emotional for many, their continued search for missing in action military members brings many emotions to the top. Finding out who a murderer is, trying to kill again takes time and a few trips to the hospital

[Lillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an excellent mystery that was marred by poor editing. Scenes that would have been much more effective shown actively were told passively. Conversations were described rather than written in dialogue. Grammar problems--such as misplaced modifiers, tense errors, and spelling errors--detracted from the reading experience. Wrong words were used as if spell check were the only editor used, for example, substantial evidence instead of circumstantial evidence and pigeon English instead of pidgin English.

Several inconsistencies in the story raised questions in this reader's mind: Why was Maleko called by his full name throughout the book except for one chapter in which he is called Mal with no explanation? Why were Palmer and Esmeralda introduced to each other in the last chapter when they had been working together and conversing at the beginning of
the book?

Although this was consistent throughout the book, the italicizing of company and place names also raises a question.

This was a really good story line, and it's a shame that poor editing kept it from being as good as it should have been.

[Ju Ephraime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This suspense mystery is set against the backdrop of the beautiful island of Hawaii where Sara Mason and Huxley Keane, along with a small group of people were searching for vets who were missing in action--their bodies never recovered—no closure for the families. All the members of the group had a stake in this search and recovery because someone close to him or her had gone MIA. The author had done her research on the problems that exist with MIA and its impact on families, emotional and otherwise. I was impressed with the author's portrayal of the pain and suffering the family members are going through in this very emotional time. So much so, I was eagerly turning the pages to learn what happened next and what was discovered. This is indeed a mystery with lots of action and unexpected finds, mystery lovers will enjoy this story.

[Patricia Gligor · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Howling Cliffs" by Mary Deal takes readers from the jungles of Vietnam to the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
As the main character, Sara Mason, and her significant other, Huxley, search for the remains of those who are missing in action, including Huxley's brother, they are also involved in solving other cold cases. Their goal is to give closure to the families of those who are unaccounted for.
When Sara hears of a little girl who went missing on Kauai ten years ago, she is determined to solve the case. But someone is just as determined to see that she doesn't.