"exhilarating romantic suspense"
With members of the yacht club where she works, Beth
Anderson looks forward to spending her vacation with her
widower brother Ben, his fourteen years old daughter Amber
and her best pal Kim Smith on tiny Calliope Key, two to
three hours from Miami. That is she has R&R until the
three females find a human skull, which Beth ponders if
this is the remains of one of the missing expert sailors,
retirees Ted and Molly Monaco. When stranger Keith Henson arrives, Beth hides the
finding. Her niece gives the newcomer the ten second
third degree that only a young teen (or Macaulay Culkin in
Uncle Buck) could perform. When Beth returns for the
hidden skull, she finds it missing; Ben insists it was a
conch. However, Beth believes whoever took the skull
remains nearby ready to kill two teens and two adult
siblings if needed. Keith offers to help her, but though
attracted to him she wonders if he is the one who
uncovered and re-hid the skull, making him the killer, but
the case will twist much more bizarrely than simply that. THE ISLAND is an exhilarating romantic suspense with the
emphasis on red herrings, twists and turns (perhaps too
many), and plenty of action as Beth tries to learn the
truth about the vanishing skull which soon leads
into "Sail into Terror". Beth is courageous as she
struggles with what she knows (very little), what she
speculates (a lot more all lethal), what to do and who to
trust. The story line works because the ensemble cast
seems genuine, as differing motives surface. Adding to
the thriller is an intriguing secondary romance between
Ben and a suspect that can only turn out bad for someone.
Heather Graham's fans will enjoy sea cruising to THE
ISLAND. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted June 6, 2006
SummaryOn a weekend vacation with her brother and niece, Beth
Anderson is unnerved when a stroll on the beach reveals what
appears to be a skull, and instantly recalls the retired
couple who disappeared off the island's coast a few months
earlier. As a stranger approaches, Beth panics and covers
the evidence. But when she later returns to the beach, the
skull is gone.
With only her niece as a witness, there is no proof of foul
play for Beth to bring to the authorities. To her brother,
the missing skull is just a good story to tell at an island
bonfire and campout that night. The tale is heard by an
eager group of vacationers—including charismatic Keith
Henson, the stranger from the beach. Everyone dismisses the
events as the product of an overactive imagination, but when
Beth hears someone outside her tent, she instinctively knows
her fears are justified.
Determined to find solid evidence to bring to the police,
Beth digs deeper into the mystery of the skull—and
everywhere she goes, Keith Henson seems to appear. He claims
to be keeping an eye on her safety, but Beth senses other
motives. Then a body washes ashore, and Beth begins to think
she needs more help than she bargained for. Because
investigating is a dangerous game, and someone wants to stop
Beth from playing.
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