AN HONEST MAN

Narrator Robert Petkoff uses a variety of New England accents to enhance this thriller, which takes place on an island off Maine. Petkoff's controlled, dark narration adds some brine to the unraveling mystery of who killed seven people on a beached ghost ship. Like a set of Russian nesting dolls, the story reveals secrets that beget secrets as Israel Pike, the island outcast, attempts to put a corrupt cop out of business. The trouble is that the cop is also Israel's uncle, who's still angry that Israel committed patricide 15 years earlier. The plot also includes a woman who appears from the sea named Hatchet (so called because she always carries one) and a sad subplot dealing with Lyman, a kid whose drunken dad beats him. Put it all together with Petkoff's professional storytelling, and the result is hard-to-put-down suspense. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2023]