Entry Island, written by accomplished author Peter May, has two story lines: a murder mystery in present day on a Canadian barrier island and a tale of forbidden love in mid 19th century Scotland. Both involve the same main characters, Sime and Kristy.
Sime, short for Simon but pronounced “Sheem,” is our protagonist. In present day, he is investigating Kirsty as the key suspect in the murder of her mega-rich husband. He is overcome by the notion that they have met before. She assures them they have not.
So begin his dreams of times past with her in Scotland.
In the past, Scotland Sime lives hand-to-mouth with his family as tenants on land owned by Kristy’s father. The intersection of their earlier lives begins when Sime rescues her from a deadly carriage accident.
Confused? So was I.
In a convoluted fashion, May links up the two different storylines between Kristy and Sime. Along the way, during the slow unfolding, the reader is blindsided by revelations of Sime’s personal life in the here and now. Those surprises are strategically placed and give the otherwise sluggish cadence of the book some rhythm.
While it was intriguing to see how May connected the dots between the mid 1850’s characters and the current ones, the overall tone of the book was bleak and haunted. I felt, as I was reading, that it was always dark and gray and even when the sun was shining, it hurt the characters’ eyes. The book hurt mine a little.
Published: 2015
Publisher: Quercus
Elizabeth's rating: 2 ½ stars