SLIPKNOT

Author: Linda Greenlaw ISBN: 0786866780 6/2007 SUSPENSE Publisher: HYPERION

When Jane Bunker moves back to the sleepy Maine fishing community where she was born, it’s to escape the seamy crime scenes and unsavory characters that crossed her path in Miami. Surely whatever crimes are committed in touristy, idyllic Green Haven won’t involve anything as nasty as what she saw in Florida. It’s a bit of a shock, then, when Nick Dow, the town drunk, turns up dead, and it’s not the simple accident that everyone assumes it to be. Jane soon discovers that Dow wasn’t even a drunk—it was all an act. But why? And what does it have to do with a heated town hall meeting about fishing rights and paternity suits? The more Jane digs, the more confused she gets. Only two things are certain: Nothing is what it seems; and the whole town is in each other’s business. But it’s not until Jane impulsively hops on a boat with the killer—a boat that suddenly heads out to sea—that things become downright dangerous . . .

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I struggled with this novel, perhaps more so than any other book I have ever read. When reading the novel details, the book did sound fascinating and that it might have a plot that would captivate me. Sadly, this was not the situation for me.

The main character, Jane, is a marine investigator who has relocated to Maine to investigate a case for an insurance company. The case involves the town drunk who falls off the dock to his death. Did he drown, or was he pushed and murdered? Somehow, the book takes a turn and involves issues of windmills, fishing rights, and paternity suits. Jane must find a way to solve the case without spending money and ends up putting herself in mortal danger.

That is the best synopsis to sum up 272 pages of confusion. I found SLIPKNOT to be very dry and, well, boring. I felt like I was on a professional fishing expedition, something that holds no interest for me. I think the book has a storyline that if taken in a different direction, could have had a chance to redeem itself. Maybe I am being very picky about my reading material. However, this is not a book I would recommend to a friend, or even a reading group. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth and almost afraid to read another book by this author.

Kym Oetting