Kevin Parson

I like historical fiction that splices together storylines from multiple eras. That was the intention here, but instead of weaving comfortably together into a strong rope, the threads stayed separate throughout the story. There were some vivid scenes and attention-catching characters; I just wanted to see their plot lines come together in a more meaningful manner.

The action in this novel takes places in three different time periods: 1781, 1929, and 1959. The connection between these time periods is tenuous. The first involves the kidnapping of a governor’s daughters. The second deals with gangsters and rum runners. A brothel also figures in. The chapters vacillate between these time periods. The whole novel seems disjointed and not cohesive. Most of the story is told in narrative with little dialogue. I was excited to win a copy of this title. show more Murder and mayhem on Mackinac Island seemed exciting. Unfortunately, the book fell short of my expectations. I couldn’t connect with the storyline or with most of the characters. Caroline, one of the governor’s daughters, is probably the best developed, but even her character seems shallow and lacking in depth. I started reading the story and had to pause in my reading. To give it a fair assessment, I started over and read it in one sitting. When I finished, I pondered what I had just read. I wasn’t sure what the author wanted to express. Too many characters who didn’t add clarity and too many time periods that didn’t connect left me frustrated. Perhaps the author should have added more details to explain clearly what was happening. This would have helped me understand the story better. Maybe he was trying to be mysterious, but his style of writing did not appeal to me at all. The premise seemed appealing; I wish I could have enjoyed the result. show less

It took me two tries to read and finish this book. I really, really wanted to love this book as I have visited the island and know the area. This book was gifted to me for a review.
I just couldn't get into this one. It felt so disjointed. I finally figured out about half way through the book some of the tie ins, but...... still kinda bored with it. I just skimmed the last half. I had had this book way too long without reviewing it.

I am not one to quit a book as I feel most books should be given a chance but I just could not get through this. I’ve had to read every page multiple times to even get a thread of meaning. It reads like stage directions and narration in a play with very little dialogue or in depth description. The author often uses long, confusing run-on sentences, “Accentuated by the wind blowing her hair, which already resembled the loons fighting for attention behind her, the brunette caught several show more eyes passing by.” There are also some very strangely placed onomatopoeia, “CLACK SCRATCH SKIFF HUSH”, that make the writing feel very amateurish.



Thank you to the author and LibraryThing for a copy of this book. I was really looking forward to the story as a former Michigander. A good idea that just wasn’t executed well. show less