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[su_pullquote align= ‘right’] Above: Tulley Walker’s home on Walker’s Key, now known as the Indian mound at Cockroach Bay. [/su_pullquote]
There’s something very special about a great book set in a location a reader knows and loves. Walker’s Key – still known as the Indian mound at Cockroach Bay – is just that kind of book.
Written by Massachusetts attorney Frank B. Haddleton, it’s historical fiction based on the author’s discovery of two apparent suicides in his family, including one at Egmont Key. It reads like a well-written history.
The details are intriguing enough that I spent the first half of the book going back and forth between it, searching online to determine fact from fiction. By the second half, I was so immersed in the twists and turns of a great mystery that I couldn’t pull myself away. I simply read on (for most of the night, in fact).
Much of the book is set in downtown St. Petersburg in 1900, 12 years after the city was founded. In a somewhat “back to the future” theme, it was connected to Tampa, Key West, Pensacola and New Orleans via steamboats docking at the Atlantic Coast Railroad Pier with train service to Tampa and other Florida locations.
The Walkers were a Massachusetts family who moved to St. Petersburg to take advantage of business opportunities in the growing city. Kenelm, the father, was a member of the Tampa Bay Pilots Association and lived in a large house on Egmont Key. Tulley, the oldest son, bought Walker Key and was paid $500 a year to maintain a lighthouse there. Darby, the second son, ran a ferry between St. Petersburg to Egmont Key from a second pier in downtown St. Petersburg.
Much of the drama revolves around the troubled relationship between Tulley, an introvert who resented his brother from the moment he was born, and Darby, with a more outgoing personality. When Kenelm inexplicably committed suicide, his family and friends suspected foul play. Tulley also died from an apparent suicide and his death was questionable as well. Even Darby’s death in an explosion aboard his ferry isn’t certain.
While Haddleton thoroughly researched his family roots, he also included fictional characters that make the book come alive. Hetty Howe, editor of the St. Petersburg Post, is a long-time family friend whose reporting about the deaths and disappearances tie the story together. Andrew Beaumont, a former slave who was saved by Kenelm’s father, is a fictional attorney who also plays a critical role in the tale.
Parts of the story are set in the mid-18th century Massachusetts, where Kenelm and his father were ship captains and Haddleton grew up with a grandmother who encouraged his interests in genealogy and writing.
He deftly weaves diverse geographic and historical periods in a story that quickly pulls a reader in and holds their interest through to the very surprising conclusion. It was wonderful to learn more about the history of Tampa Bay reading this thoroughly enjoyable mystery.
To learn more about Haddleton and his research into Tampa Bay’s history — and to help separate fact from fiction — visit https://frankhaddleton.com/. And for another take on the book, check out the review from Kirkus Reviews.
Enjoyed this article? Check out more book reviews Bay Soundings has done for additional literary inspiration related to Tampa Bay!
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