The place is a small island off the coast of Maine in which dwell a variety of very odd people. Called to the island from her Texas home the main character, Vera Gamble, learns that her autistic brother who disappeared 13 years before has arrived dead, washed up on the beach in mysterious circumstances. I'll let you read about those circumstances yourself.

From then on, her island visit becomes the visit from hell, with fantastic stories of hidden artifacts, events verging on witchcraft, her meeting with a man who is either her nemesis or her saviour, again I'll let you discover which, and various rather ridiculous ventures on the part of our heroine. Silly? At times, yes, but not always. Eventually the author discovers what he should have been writing about all along, rather than delving into the damaged brains of a couple of the characters. The interesting part revolves around the discovery of ancient artifacts, actual historical events, and a very satisfying resolution of Vera's fear of losing her mind.

In short, the ending is much better than the beginning. Perhaps it should have been written so that the reader could start in the middle, thereby understanding how Vera's problems began, plowing through the nonsense, and eventually enjoying the ending.

Worth reading? Definitely! For everyone? Definitely not.
Review by Litera Scripta