2/28/08

San Juans provide scenic backdrop for mystery

by Mary Burns

False Harbor

By Michael Donnelly

($15.99, Windstorm Creative)

For the past 20 years, the once celebrated sculptor Anton Gropius has sequestered himself on his private island in the San Juans, retreating there after a collection of his sculptures was smashed in an unsolved act of vandalism. He has been accepting minor artistic commissions, producing uninspired busts for people willing to pay his price.

Friday Harbor journalist Egret Van Gerpin believes Gropius may be sculpting another masterpiece, and she kayaks uninvited to his island to interview him for the article she’s planning. She already has the headline: “Reclusive Genius Stuns Art World.” 

From the first sentence, Poulsbo resident Michael Donnelly fully involves his reader in this frequently intense story. As we kayak toward the island, we realize the pleasures and hazards of Van Gerpin’s water venture. The description of the land places the reader there, observing the people assembled for Gropius’ seventieth birthday celebration. Not all of these vividly characterized people are happy to be there, and the journalist finds that Gropius suspects one of them of having performed the vicious act of vandalism over 20 years ago.

Mary Burns is the owner of The BookWORKS, in Downtown Marysville Visit www.marysvillebookworks.com.

Caption: The author's wife, Cori Donnelly, is drawn into the local mystery of "False Harbor."