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Cait Morgan #14
The Corpse with the Pearly Smile
“How could an experienced pearl diver drown in calm waters protected by a coral reef? That sounds…suspicious…�
When Welsh Canadian criminal psychologist Cait Morgan literally bumps into a body floating in a picturesque lagoon on the paradise island of Tahiti, she and her retired cop husband Bud Anderson find themselves engulfed by the tragedy.
Before long, our investigative duo realizes that not everything is as perfect as it appears at the luxury beach resort where they’ve been hosted as ‘test guests�. Diving beneath the surface of the seemingly placid lives of the people Cait believes she has come to know, it becomes clear that many dark secrets have been lurking, hidden in the depths…and she finds herself awash with doubts about her abilities...and suspects. When another calamity befalls their group, Cait and Bud know they must act fast…because it’s time to sink, or swim.
This is the fourteenth book in the series featuring the often prickly and invariably justice-driven sleuth, Cait Morgan, and her quietly determined husband, Bud Anderson.
When Welsh Canadian criminal psychologist Cait Morgan literally bumps into a body floating in a picturesque lagoon on the paradise island of Tahiti, she and her retired cop husband Bud Anderson find themselves engulfed by the tragedy.
Before long, our investigative duo realizes that not everything is as perfect as it appears at the luxury beach resort where they’ve been hosted as ‘test guests�. Diving beneath the surface of the seemingly placid lives of the people Cait believes she has come to know, it becomes clear that many dark secrets have been lurking, hidden in the depths…and she finds herself awash with doubts about her abilities...and suspects. When another calamity befalls their group, Cait and Bud know they must act fast…because it’s time to sink, or swim.
This is the fourteenth book in the series featuring the often prickly and invariably justice-driven sleuth, Cait Morgan, and her quietly determined husband, Bud Anderson.
284 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2024
6 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Cathy Ace
45Ìýbooks384ÌýfollowersCathy Ace migrated from her native Wales to Canada at the age of 40. She is the award-winning author of the traditional Cait Morgan Mysteries featuring her Welsh Canadian criminology professor sleuth who travels the world tripping over corpses, which have now been optioned for TV. She also writes the cozier WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries featuring a quartet of female PIs who run their business out of a Welsh stately home. Both series have been well-reviewed. Her award-winning standalone, THE WRONG BOY, is a gripping novel of psychological suspense, set in Wales, and has also been optioned for TV.
"Ace is, well, an ace when it comes to plot and description.� The Globe and Mail
Cathy's work has won the prestigious Bony Blithe Award for best Canadian light mystery, an IPPY and an IBA Award, and has been shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story.
Her short story "Dear George" appeared on the UK's O Level English Language syllabus and, together with another story, "Domestic Violence", has been produced for BBC Radio 4. You can find out more about Cathy, her books, and events she'll be attending, at
"Ace is, well, an ace when it comes to plot and description.� The Globe and Mail
Cathy's work has won the prestigious Bony Blithe Award for best Canadian light mystery, an IPPY and an IBA Award, and has been shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story.
Her short story "Dear George" appeared on the UK's O Level English Language syllabus and, together with another story, "Domestic Violence", has been produced for BBC Radio 4. You can find out more about Cathy, her books, and events she'll be attending, at
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 7, 2024
Cait Morgan feels like she and her husband, Bud Anderson, are trapped in paradise. In reality, the paradise is a luxury hotel in Tahiti and the trapped feeling is caused because Bud was injured when the couple were in Australia, which means that he is unable to travel by air for several more months. Cait is truly grateful for Bud’s recovery, but she has found the prolonged sea journey back to their home in Canada very tedious and is growing very tired of the wait in Tahiti for their next sea connection. She misses their adored dog, Marty, and is finding it challenging to fulfil her lecturing commitments as a Professor of Criminal Psychology while working virtually. Cait and Bud were fortunate enough to be invited to be test guests at the new Legrand Resort, which has been created by Henri Legrand and his wife, Fleur. Henri had been a colleague of Bud’s many years ago when they both served in the RCMP (the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) although Bud’s career had been far more successful than Henri’s. Cait has done her best to offer honest, constructive feedback about the service, as the Legrands had requested, and she believes that the whole management team at the resort is warm, caring and closely knit.
The Legrand Resort is situated on an isolated outcrop that is difficult to approach by land and is usually accessed by sea. Cait often goes for an early morning swim in the resort’s lagoon but one morning she receives a horrible shock when she discovers a dead body floating in the water. She shouts for help and, with the aid of the resort manager, Mahana, she pulls the body onto the beach. The victim is soon identified as Vaiarii Teriimana, a young man who had been born and brought up in Tahiti. As a teenager he had been engaged in the dangerous job of deep-sea pearl diving but since that time he has achieved international fame as a model for the world renowned Ducasse pearl company and his amazing, pearly white smile has been seen in advertising throughout the world. Now, as well as his employment with the Ducasse company, he has several lucrative sponsorship deals with other companies and is engaged to marry CeeCee Ducasse, the daughter of the proprietor of the pearl company and a leading influencer in travel and fashion.
The reactions of the core team at the Legrand Resort are varied. Mahana is a close friend of Vaiarii’s mother, and she is distressed by the death of a young man that she has known since he was born. Henri and Fleur are extremely worried about the effect that the death of a well-known young man will have on their new business, especially if CeeCee uses her power as an influencer to emphasise that her fiancé died in the resort’s lagoon. Vaiarii and CeeCee had recently been at the resort to make a short promotional film, and the majority of the staff express negative feelings about Vaiarii’s behaviour. Although the initial assumption is that Vaiarii’s death was an accident there are a few signs that cause Cait to wonder if that is the case.
The tensions rise when CeeCee and her assistant, Troy, arrive at the resort. Cait is unimpressed by the young woman who seems to be totally self-centred and determined to dramatise her reaction to Vaiarii’s death to share with her followers. She is irritated by the subservience Henri and Fleur show to CeeCee, which Cait knows is not because of pity for her bereavement but because they are afraid, she will write an adverse review of the resort and influence her followers to stay away.
Another person is violently attacked, which makes it essential to consider Vaiarii’s death in another more sinister light. The road access to the resort is temporarily impassable and the detective assigned to the case is unwilling to travel by water, so the only police officer initially present is a delightful, uniformed officer who is nicknamed Sunny. He is very knowledgeable about all the people involved, having lived on the island all his life, and he is happy to accept the expertise offered by Cait and Bud. At first Cait makes little headway with the investigation until she realises that her usual flair for seeing into the minds of those she is dealing with has deserted her. A rethink is necessary and, having done so, Cait swiftly realises that the truth lies within the secrets of the island, concealed in the hearts and lives of the people who had been born and bred there.
The Corpse with the Pearly Smile is the fourteenth book in the series featuring Cait Morgan and Bud Anderson. It is a superb edition to an excellent series, with engaging characters, a compelling plot, fascinating descriptions of a place that is for many people associated with the paradise depicted in Gauguin's art. Above all the book has a depth and truthfulness that lift it above other crime novels. This is a page turner, which I wholeheartedly recommend.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)
The Legrand Resort is situated on an isolated outcrop that is difficult to approach by land and is usually accessed by sea. Cait often goes for an early morning swim in the resort’s lagoon but one morning she receives a horrible shock when she discovers a dead body floating in the water. She shouts for help and, with the aid of the resort manager, Mahana, she pulls the body onto the beach. The victim is soon identified as Vaiarii Teriimana, a young man who had been born and brought up in Tahiti. As a teenager he had been engaged in the dangerous job of deep-sea pearl diving but since that time he has achieved international fame as a model for the world renowned Ducasse pearl company and his amazing, pearly white smile has been seen in advertising throughout the world. Now, as well as his employment with the Ducasse company, he has several lucrative sponsorship deals with other companies and is engaged to marry CeeCee Ducasse, the daughter of the proprietor of the pearl company and a leading influencer in travel and fashion.
The reactions of the core team at the Legrand Resort are varied. Mahana is a close friend of Vaiarii’s mother, and she is distressed by the death of a young man that she has known since he was born. Henri and Fleur are extremely worried about the effect that the death of a well-known young man will have on their new business, especially if CeeCee uses her power as an influencer to emphasise that her fiancé died in the resort’s lagoon. Vaiarii and CeeCee had recently been at the resort to make a short promotional film, and the majority of the staff express negative feelings about Vaiarii’s behaviour. Although the initial assumption is that Vaiarii’s death was an accident there are a few signs that cause Cait to wonder if that is the case.
The tensions rise when CeeCee and her assistant, Troy, arrive at the resort. Cait is unimpressed by the young woman who seems to be totally self-centred and determined to dramatise her reaction to Vaiarii’s death to share with her followers. She is irritated by the subservience Henri and Fleur show to CeeCee, which Cait knows is not because of pity for her bereavement but because they are afraid, she will write an adverse review of the resort and influence her followers to stay away.
Another person is violently attacked, which makes it essential to consider Vaiarii’s death in another more sinister light. The road access to the resort is temporarily impassable and the detective assigned to the case is unwilling to travel by water, so the only police officer initially present is a delightful, uniformed officer who is nicknamed Sunny. He is very knowledgeable about all the people involved, having lived on the island all his life, and he is happy to accept the expertise offered by Cait and Bud. At first Cait makes little headway with the investigation until she realises that her usual flair for seeing into the minds of those she is dealing with has deserted her. A rethink is necessary and, having done so, Cait swiftly realises that the truth lies within the secrets of the island, concealed in the hearts and lives of the people who had been born and bred there.
The Corpse with the Pearly Smile is the fourteenth book in the series featuring Cait Morgan and Bud Anderson. It is a superb edition to an excellent series, with engaging characters, a compelling plot, fascinating descriptions of a place that is for many people associated with the paradise depicted in Gauguin's art. Above all the book has a depth and truthfulness that lift it above other crime novels. This is a page turner, which I wholeheartedly recommend.
-------
Reviewer: Carol Westron
For Lizzie Sirett (Mystery People Group)
February 10, 2025
Another great read by Cathy Ace. I read this series a little bit ago and did not realize another one was out so took me a minute to get back into the characters but once I did , I was back into the story and life of Cait and Bud. The setting of Tahiti and its history was so informative and beautiful for the most part. Great mystery and history, death abounds and suspicion arises in this beautiful setting while bud rests up enough to get back home.
January 16, 2025
A horribly unpleasant character makes the story unreadable.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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