Review: Useless Bay by M. J. Beaufrand

Author: M. J. Beaufrand
Publisher: Abrams Books
Date of publication: October 2016

A gritty, psychological thriller about a mythic set of sixteen-year-old quintuplets searching for a young boy.

On Whidbey Island, the Gray quintuplets are the stuff of legend. Pixie and her brothers have always been bigger and blonder than their neighbors, as if they were birthed from the island itself. Together, they serve as an unofficial search-and-rescue team for the island, saving tourists and locals alike from the forces of wind and sea. But, when a young boy goes missing, the mysteries start to pile up. While searching for him, they find his mother’s dead body instead—and realize that something sinister is in their midst. Edgar-nominated author M. J. Beaufrand has crafted another atmospheric thriller with a touch of magical realism that fans of mystery and true crime will devour.

Useless Bay is another recent random library pick.  To be honest, I'm not sure what level of reader this is supposed to be marketed to.  On one hand, it read like a middle grade book and on the other it had elements that would really only be suitable for older YA readers.  The story involves quintuplets who are famous for being good at search and rescue on their little island  The four brothers and one sister are rumored to have been born of the land.  They are tasked with finding one of their friend's little brother who has gone missing on the island, however, they end up finding another body instead.

This ended up being an OK read for me.  It's really short, so I read it in one sitting.  My biggest issue with it was the lack of supernatural development.  There are some elements that, had they been further developed, could have lead the book to be a good supernatural thriller.  But they weren't. For instance, Pixie's visions about the troll and creatures in the sea.  I would have loved to have more.  I also thought the book could have been longer to make the mystery more exciting.  It wasn't hard to figure out the reveal about halfway through the book.  So, it was more a matter of waiting for the characters to catch up to the reader.  

Having said all of that, I did like the characters.  They are ones I would love to read about again.  The Quints were fun and interesting.  No one knows who their father was although there it a hint toward the end of book.  That would have been fun to explore further.  As I said earlier, I think this probably should be kept to the older YA crowd.  There are elements of animal and child abuse that could be disturbing to younger readers.