Last Known Port: A Southern Mystery

Last Known Port: A Southern Mystery by Sue Anger 276 pages

 

It’s May 1923. Jake Parson and his Labrador retriever, Pilot, have pulled into the port of Beaufort, North Carolina. He is only a week late, and he is eager to see his brother, Wade, who is waiting for him. Upon his arrival, he learns that Wade left a week ago aboard his boat, but never made it to his next port. There are no signs of him in Beaufort except that his dog, Yawg, is there. Jake knows something is wrong; Wade would never leave Yawg behind. Jake begins to do some investigating around town, talking to anyone who knew him.

 

Beneath the surface of Beaufort, things are not what they seem. The idyllic coastal town harbors some big secrets. Jake, a World War I veteran suffering from shellshock, discovers rum-running and smuggling are the biggest trades in the area.

 

As he meets the town’s inhabitants, Jake is drawn to jazz musician Nell Guthrie. Unfortunately, Nell is already engaged, but the two do become good friends. Bottom line is that Jake learns that “local rum runners are piloting small boats in the open ocean to collect illegal booze from ships traveling the “Whiskey Road,” that stretches from Nassau to New York City’s Rum Row.”

 

This novel was more about the booze than it was about finding Wade. He was a secondary plot point. Last Known Port: A Southern Mystery gets 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.