The Island

I have no one to blame for reading this but myself. I noticed it would fulfill two of my challenges so I thought, what the heck, I read Heather Graham many years ago and she's not too bad. She's not bad, but this book was simply awful. The basic premise of the story is that our heroine, Beth Anderson, is on a boating weekend with her niece, brother and her niece's friend. They have traveled out to Calliope Key where they have camped and explored before. Before long they are joined by strangers, as well as people from the yacht club where Beth works and Ben is a member. While out exploring Beth finds a skull. She hides it when one of the strangers, Keith Henson, arrives. But, when she goes back to show it to her brother later it is gone. show more The characters were insipid, the story slow moving and I was hoping the boat would sink and everyone would disappear. On the bright side, I've been able to finish two challenges. " show less

Very enjoyable romantic suspense story. Although I thought it started a bit slow, the more I read, the more captivated I became. Great settings in the Florida Keys and Miami, and an entertaining cast of characters made this a most enjoyable read.

In The Island Beth Anderson goes on a trip to a remote island near Florida with her brother and her nephew. She finds a skull there and gets all freaked out, recalling a story about a missing couple. This leads her to investigate the situation in what turns out to be a convoluted mystery.

The Island is a very flawed novel. For one thing, none of the characters are all that interesting, and it's hard to care about them, in particular the love interest that Beth develops with the mysterious manly man Keith. The plot holes in the story are too numerous to mention. The tension never fully develops, or perhaps it didn't matter because I could not get myself to root for or against any of the characters. In the end, this is a very forgettable show more novel. I've read better from Heather Graham, and I would suggest skipping this one.

Carl Alves - author of Blood Street show less

A weekend vacation turns into a nightmare as a skull is found, then lost and Beth Anderson isn't sure who to trust and who not to as a couple disappeared from somewhere close to this island a few weeks ago. When a body washes up on the beach there are even more questions. An interesting twist on paradise and what it might not be.

To start out I listened to this book on CD during a drive for vacation over the weekend. It made the drive amazingly fast. It was a great book that I almost drove for another 2 hours (which is about how much of the book I had left to listen to) just so I could finish the book. I was ready for the drive back home only so I could book the book back on and learn the ending. I fought over my thoughts many times exactly what I though the ending would be but I think I had it figured out, kind of, before the ending. The only other thing I wish I could of changed or left out of the book were the two sex scenes, even though I was in the car with my wife and no one else, it was still very awkward. Overall a great story, unfortunately I can't say show more much for the readability of it though. show less

From BackCover:
A slice of paradise in the turquoise waters of southern Florida, the island is a lush, breathtaking sanctuary. Few can resist its allure, or its primitive beauty – but fewer still know its secrets.

On a weekend vacation Beth Anderson is unnerved when a stroll on the beach reveals what appears to be a skull. As a stranger approaches, Beth panics and covers the evidence. But when she later returns to the beach, the skull is gone.

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, the stranger from the beach, seems to appear. He claims to be keeping an eye on her safety, but Beth senses other motives. Then a body washes ashore, show more 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. show less