100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

Growing up in the small, secluded and impoverished Elton Township on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Kenny and his best friend Mason, aka Lucky try to make the best of life. Lucky earns his nickname by being  able to talk his way out of anything and by being able to seemingly bend people to his will by his voice.  Kenny's uncle starts to notice Lucky going out to Grove Island with a sack, a sack of live animals that he sacrifices to the large Pine tree on the island. From there, Kenny's uncle, the mayor and the policeman realize that Lucky has unearthed something evil and drive him out of town.  Years later, Kenny returns to Elton Township with his kids after the death of his wife, he finds that his childhood friend has also returned to release the full extent of the force that resides on Grove Island.

This book is very strange and disturbing, not one for the faint of heart. In the first part of the book, the suspense builds.  Kenny and Lucky's characters are reunited after many years, and then their past together is explored.  Lucky is a very interesting character, the son of the local Reverend, but with a highly manipulative personality.  At first I didn't know if Lucky was just overly charismatic and a bit of a sociopath, or if something else was going on.  The transitions between the past backstory and the present happening were a little choppy for me, I think it would have been better just to keep a chronological time line. At about the halfway point, when we return to the present, things start getting gory and perverse fairly quickly.  Lucky's talents increase exponentially when he returns to Elton Township and he creates mayhem.  I did like the overall idea of the story, but it could use some better execution.  I think it would have been interesting to delve deeper into the history of the force on Grove Island as a horror aspect rather than relying on suspense and shock value.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.