Stars: 2 / 5
Recommendation: Despite the characters being moron and the plot predictable, there was one scene that did give me a few tears. So I guess this is not that bad a novel then. I am just going to shut up because never ever have I read such moronic characters, stupid heroine, her selfish family. The protagonist was the only saving grace.
The Island is the first book in the anthology book Still Water published in October of 2016 written by Heather Graham. The stand-alone book by itself was first published in March of 2006. This is also the first book in The Island Series, second book being The Face in the Window, published in 2017; although I couldn’t find anything mentioning it except on one site.
Beth Anderson is on a weekend vacation in Calliope Key Island in Florida and finds a skull while walking the beach. But when it later disappears she is determined to find it and who it belongs to. She meets Keith Henson, a handsome stranger, that she has yet to decide if he is working with her or against her; a friend? or a killer?
The author takes us into the world of sea diving, treasure hunting under water, sea pirates and the perils surrounding it. It starts really slow and long winded in every scene to get to the point.
A few things that irritated me a lot while reading. First up, our heroine Beth Anderson, OMG she is mostly idiot and stupid, all the time worrying too much about her niece than for her safety no matter who tries to convince her. I understand her apprehensions but to what extent.
Also she constantly bickers and pesters our protagonist, Keith Henson about who he is and why he doesn’t give straight answers. She is attracted to him yet she has so many doubts, questions and suspicions. Still she sleeps with him, everytime they meet. It looked more obsession than chemistry. Bue there is obvious chemistry but love is something is not seen; or even if seen looked like fake.
Then the so called niece, Amber, that she is so much worried about has no concern for privacy of her Aunt and plays matchmaker. What does a 14 year old know about matchmaking? This is something out of a Hallmark movie, that always bugged me. I abhor when someone tries to meddle with my personal life. May be its just my personality but not when a 14 yr old meddles. I also felt her selfish and not doing what she was told to do. Why don’t kids understand that when parents say something its for their best.
And for God’s sake, if you are sleeping with someone and if you are over 21 yrs old, what does it matter if people know it. She panics ridiculously that her niece will know she had sex with Keith. But does it matter, its her life. I didn’t get that whole scene in Chapter 6 where she panics. And of course the sex scene was very elaborate but still read fake.
Although Heather was pushing us towards the obvious people as criminals, I figured it our somewhere around 11th or 12th chapter the real culprits. Very predictable. I also felt that most of the cast where acting moron-ish. Why wouldn’t they believe what Beth was saying? It’s like collectively they were making her look stupid and crazy.
I don’t understand Beth’s brother Ben. First he doesn’t believe her, then when finally he gets to know at least part of the danger he feels betrayed by Beth. How would she have betrayed when he didn’t believe in her to begin with. He had actually mocked her and had felt disgusted at times with her. And why would he accept Amanda after she almost acted like a prostitute and knowing that neither his daughter nor his sister liked her much
Beth was kind when she said that Amanda acted as if the world was her toy and men were created for her amusement, whether they were married, engaged or taken. Made no sense at all. In real world no one would associate with Amanda after knowing the truth about her family.
Despite the characters being moron and the plot predictable, there was one scene that did give me a few tears. So I guess this is not that bad a novel then. I am just going to shut up because never ever have I read such moronic characters, stupid heroine, her selfish family. The protagonist was the only saving grace. This is not traditional Heather Graham novel for sure.
Spoiler Alerts:
- Book Trivia and Plot Reveals:
- Beth Anderson’s family: brother Ben, his daughter Amber and her best friend Kimberly “Kim” Smith
- Other characters: Keith’s friends – Lee Gomez owns the boat Sea Serpent, Matt Albright; Amanda Manson & her family – father Roger, Hank, a cousin owns the boat Southern Light and Gerald, a cousin; Brad Shaw and his partner Sandy Allison; Barney, a fisherman, owns the boat Sheba; Patrolman Garth; Robert Gray, works with Coast Guard; Mike Burlington, Keith’s boss (??); James Fleming, Medical Examiner; Laurie Green, whom Keith rescued a long time ago; Lieutenant Gorsky; John Elmer; Joe; Jose; Melanie; Officer Greg Masters;
- Ashley Dilessio, works for the Forensic Department, runs her uncle’s restaurant Nick’s; Husband Jake, a Homicide Detective, have two kids
- Folks at the Yacht Club: Commodore George Berry; Chef Margolin; Manny Ortega, a member; Mark Grimshaw, a member; Tanya Whirlque, a member; Henry, a waiter; Belinda, breakfast server;
- Salsa Studio folks: Eduardo Shea, owner of dance studios; Maria Lopez, Aging Salsa Queen; Mauricio, Maria’s dance partner
Galavant Reflections 