Bookstore
AMATEUR SLEUTH/SUSPENSE/
SOFT-BOILED MYSTERY
SOFT-BOILED MYSTERY
ISLAND LIFE
Read A Review:
Murder nearly destroys a Seattle family.
Jack Holm is in therapy to resolve problems with his emotionally distant wife. Since losing the lucrative job that brought him to Seattle, he's been surviving by freelancing while Mary, a flight attendant, is picking up extra trips, often on short notice. Because Mary, who's more interested in drinking than sex, leaves most of the household chores and child raising to Jack, he doesn't miss her when she's away for several days. He finally reports her as a missing person, but it's too late, and when her body is discovered, raped and beaten, he becomes the prime suspect. His struggles to help his moody teen daughter Kelsey and his desolated younger son Tyler are cut short when he's arrested and Child Services indicates plans to place the children in foster homes. Good lawyers keep Jack out of jail and with his children, but he realizes that he alone is interested in finding the real murderer. A child-porn CD discovered in a bag Mary mistakenly exchanged with a friend and some threatening phone calls give him a lead. With help from a Chinese computer expert and moral support from a new love, he pursues a dangerous killer.
In a shift from his Emerson Ward mysteries (Death is No Bargain, 2006, etc.), Sherer creates a suspenseful tale of a family stressed by the conflicts murder reveals.
Kirkus Review, 1/1/08 issue
Beautifully written and richly nuanced, Island Life by Michael W. Sherer transcends the usual suspense tale. No one will be able to resist rooting for Jack Holm as he fights for his son, his daughter, and ultimately his own soul when his wife is found dead and he's arrested for the crime. Full of insider details and psychological insight, this taut tale takes the reader into the darkest recesses of the human heart. Sherer is an artist, and his work is powerful.
Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Spymaster
Island Life is a terrific novel of a tortured husband doing his best to deal with a missing wife and his therefore motherless children. Michael W. Sherer is a seasoned pro who adopts a fascinating narrative voice: While the plot is developed through the first-person voice of Jack Holm, the reader is provided back-story through short prelude scenes of Jack with his psychotherapist, trying to work through why his wife might have left her family. A truly different and fascinating story.
Jeremiah Healy, author of Turnabout and The Only Good Lawyer
Murder nearly destroys a Seattle family.
Jack Holm is in therapy to resolve problems with his emotionally distant wife. Since losing the lucrative job that brought him to Seattle, he's been surviving by freelancing while Mary, a flight attendant, is picking up extra trips, often on short notice. Because Mary, who's more interested in drinking than sex, leaves most of the household chores and child raising to Jack, he doesn't miss her when she's away for several days. He finally reports her as a missing person, but it's too late, and when her body is discovered, raped and beaten, he becomes the prime suspect. His struggles to help his moody teen daughter Kelsey and his desolated younger son Tyler are cut short when he's arrested and Child Services indicates plans to place the children in foster homes. Good lawyers keep Jack out of jail and with his children, but he realizes that he alone is interested in finding the real murderer. A child-porn CD discovered in a bag Mary mistakenly exchanged with a friend and some threatening phone calls give him a lead. With help from a Chinese computer expert and moral support from a new love, he pursues a dangerous killer.
In a shift from his Emerson Ward mysteries (Death is No Bargain, 2006, etc.), Sherer creates a suspenseful tale of a family stressed by the conflicts murder reveals.
Kirkus Review, 1/1/08 issue
Beautifully written and richly nuanced, Island Life by Michael W. Sherer transcends the usual suspense tale. No one will be able to resist rooting for Jack Holm as he fights for his son, his daughter, and ultimately his own soul when his wife is found dead and he's arrested for the crime. Full of insider details and psychological insight, this taut tale takes the reader into the darkest recesses of the human heart. Sherer is an artist, and his work is powerful.
Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Spymaster
Island Life is a terrific novel of a tortured husband doing his best to deal with a missing wife and his therefore motherless children. Michael W. Sherer is a seasoned pro who adopts a fascinating narrative voice: While the plot is developed through the first-person voice of Jack Holm, the reader is provided back-story through short prelude scenes of Jack with his psychotherapist, trying to work through why his wife might have left her family. A truly different and fascinating story.
Jeremiah Healy, author of Turnabout and The Only Good Lawyer