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Regrets Only

by Nancy Geary

Nancy Geary is a fairly recent addition to the ranks of our many mystery authors, but her slant on the differences between rich, middle-class and poor families is special, and worth your perusal of her work. In Regrets Only Ms. Geary has adroitly informed us that many of the wealthy Main Line families living just outside Philadelphia still maintain their original (and rather snobbish) lifestyle of the last century. Unfortunately a true fact in spite of the novel's fictional base.

Regrets Only is primarily about Detective Lucy O'Malley and her growing relationship with Archer Haverill, the owner of a bar called the Arch, and the son of an extremely wealthy father, Rodman Haverill. Lucy initially takes her partner, Jack Harper, to the Arch – a favorite hangout of hers, where she meets Archer for the first time. Archer is into using his bar as a place to introduce artists and poets, etc. and to give them a chance to become known. When Lucy takes Jack there, the artist whose work is being displayed is Foster Herbert; sixteen years old, very talented, with a showing of twelve self portraits. Foster unfortunately is not only consistently depressed, he also has a large number of other psychiatric problems.

Foster and Avery (his sister) are adopted twins, but have only recently learned of their adoption. Up until that time they believed that Bill and Faith Herbert were their real parents. Dr. David Ellery is Foster's psychiatrist, and when Foster kills himself with a handgun, the Herberts blame Ellery. David Ellery shares a suite of offices with two other psychiatrists, Morgan Reese and Nancy Moore. It seems that Foster used Dr. Ellery's gun, which was stolen from Ellery's office some time before.

Faith Herbert has received a letter from Morgan, who read of Foster's death in the papers, and now Morgan wants to meet Avery, the remaining twin. Morgan, who had no real friends and concentrated on her clientele, is actually the twins' mother – the result of a brief affair with Tripp Nichols, who is presently President of an exclusive men's club called The Rabbit. But Morgan was once also married to Rodman Haverill, and is also Archer's mother.

When Morgan is murdered, she has been shot – and her car is found smashed into a tree near The Rabbit. But that's not all; in addition, Morgan has been hit in the head as with what is later identified as a wooden baseball bat, and the car has been beaten and repeatedly dented with it as well.

Suspects abound. It seems that Morgan had been chosen as director for the new Wilder Center over David Ellery; a situation which drove them apart from their former friendly relationship. Then there is Morgan's stalker, Calvin Roth, a patient of hers who clung desperately to her advice. And there is the missing third person at a dinner Morgan had arranged when she invited Avery to meet Archer, her half-brother. The dinner happened to be the same night Morgan was killed. Also we must not forget Faith Herbert, who didn't want Morgan to take away her remaining daughter, and feared that as her natural mother, Morgan would.

Lucy O'Malley was raised in a rowdy Boston family before she became a police officer and eventually a detective; so when she comes up against the rarified atmosphere of Philadelphia society, including Archer's family, she unconsciously instills a totally different set of values. Archer, who is somewhat of a rebel himself, accepts her without question, but his father – who lives by different standards - is not so easily won.

Nancy Geary leads us merrily down the garden path before the actual murderer is made known. The suspects are sorted out one by one, and individual reasons for every action are made clear. The story is liberally sifted with clarifications about each character, including Lucy's own problems with her brother Aiden's death. Ms. Geary writes an interesting tale, and her perception of Main Line society
is all too true. We look forward to this author's next book.

Alan Paul Curtis

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