Publication Date: March 3, 2009
This Flashback Review, originally posted on Amazon.com, takes us back to February 13, 2009. There have been times when I have been very lucky to receive an Advanced Reader’s Copy of a novel from an author. This novel was one of those very lucky times.
A friend had met the author at Boucheron in Washington D.C. and suggested that Gruley and I connect via e-mail. This friend knew that, as a Michigan native, I would love a novel set in Northern Michigan. She also thought that, as my very small daughter was playing hockey at the time, I would have a place to hang posters advertising the novel.
I remember very clearly reading the opening passage while watching my 7-year-old playing a Sunday morning game. No setting could have been better to start this book. I read obsessively until this end. I’ve been to northern Michigan many times, and while Starvation Lake is a fictional town, it’s painted so perfectly that I could picture it as any of the many small towns of the Upper Peninsula. Again, no worries about offending the author with a not so positive review, this was an awesome read.