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Island Bluffs
Island Bluffs
ISLAND BLUFFS is a story of forgiveness, of understanding the dark side of the human spirit, and plumbs the age-old question: are children and grandchildren accountable for the sins of their parents? Island Bluffs is a modern-day exploration of the most deadly foreign attack to the U.S., when more lives were lost from either Pearl Harbor or the collapse of the World Trade Towers on 9/11 . . . a battle that is little noted in history books. Call it the “Massacre of the Atlantic.”
Carly Mason, NY’s top forensic dentist is married to a widower, Gabe Berk (née Berkowitz), and is now trying to start a family. Gabe has a seventeen year old, rebellious daughter – Megan – from his first marriage. Having exhausted all of NYC’s top fertility experts, Carly and Gabe learn of an eccentric scientist, a survivor of the Mengele twin experiments, who runs an exclusive clinic near the Jersey shore. The doctor will help Carly provided that she agrees to a Faustian deal: Carly must agree to carry twins, one will be biologically hers and for the other, she will function as a surrogate. She must agree to give the surrogate baby up at birth to the doctor, no questions asked. We learn that the doctor has created this same deal – always with success – ten other times. There is one last caveat: Carly and Gabe must move to within thirty minutes of the clinic at the start of her last trimester.
Dreams dash into nightmares when the Berks – including Gabe’s elderly father who is a Holocaust survivor - move into an old house that time forgot, in the town of Island Bluffs, near the doctor’s clinic. One event after another challenges the Berks as the town’s elders struggle to contain a secret they have kept since the early days of World War II, when the German Bund was alive and active in the area.
It soon becomes apparent theirs is no ordinary house . . . and Island Bluffs is no ordinary town. Gabe and Carly feel eyes spying on them at every turn; Yehuda hears strange noises that only he can hear; and Megan is attracted to the son of a Nazi sympathizer. To add to the mysteries, a scavenger ship mysteriously plies offshore for buried treasure and we glimpse a lone swimmer, on occasion, lumbering through the waves of Barnegat Bay. In time, we learn that this unnamed man’s identity is part of the town’s long-held secret.
Mysteries deepen as Carly’s happiness is clouded over when she learns that the fertility clinic is inhabited by a strange collection of teens. All boys, no females. Are these boys from bartered pregnancies like hers? Is the doctor a pedophile? Carly needs to know because there is no way she would ever let him take the second child only to be placed at risk. She challenges the doctor and weeps when she hears his answer.
The enigma of Island Bluffs challenges the very core of morality where forgiveness and retribution intersect. It plumbs the raw emotions of octogenarians who have survived the vilest scourge known to mankind – the mass extermination of the Jews – as the reader is drawn into the trials and tribulations of the Berk (née Berkowitz) family, who move to the laconic town of Island Bluffs on the Jersey shore to overcome their infertility issue at the hands of a most eccentric doctor. As the story unfolds it will, by turns, amaze and shock.
ISLAND BLUFFS is a story of forgiveness, of understanding the dark side of the human spirit, and plumbs the age-old question: are children and grandchildren accountable for the sins of their parents? Island Bluffs is a modern-day exploration of the most deadly foreign attack to the U.S., when more lives were lost from either Pearl Harbor or the collapse of the World Trade Towers on 9/11 . . . a battle that is little noted in history books. Call it the “Massacre of the Atlantic.”
Carly Mason, NY’s top forensic dentist is married to a widower, Gabe Berk (née Berkowitz), and is now trying to start a family. Gabe has a seventeen year old, rebellious daughter – Megan – from his first marriage. Having exhausted all of NYC’s top fertility experts, Carly and Gabe learn of an eccentric scientist, a survivor of the Mengele twin experiments, who runs an exclusive clinic near the Jersey shore. The doctor will help Carly provided that she agrees to a Faustian deal: Carly must agree to carry twins, one will be biologically hers and for the other, she will function as a surrogate. She must agree to give the surrogate baby up at birth to the doctor, no questions asked. We learn that the doctor has created this same deal – always with success – ten other times. There is one last caveat: Carly and Gabe must move to within thirty minutes of the clinic at the start of her last trimester.
Dreams dash into nightmares when the Berks – including Gabe’s elderly father who is a Holocaust survivor - move into an old house that time forgot, in the town of Island Bluffs, near the doctor’s clinic. One event after another challenges the Berks as the town’s elders struggle to contain a secret they have kept since the early days of World War II, when the German Bund was alive and active in the area.
It soon becomes apparent theirs is no ordinary house . . . and Island Bluffs is no ordinary town. Gabe and Carly feel eyes spying on them at every turn; Yehuda hears strange noises that only he can hear; and Megan is attracted to the son of a Nazi sympathizer. To add to the mysteries, a scavenger ship mysteriously plies offshore for buried treasure and we glimpse a lone swimmer, on occasion, lumbering through the waves of Barnegat Bay. In time, we learn that this unnamed man’s identity is part of the town’s long-held secret.
Mysteries deepen as Carly’s happiness is clouded over when she learns that the fertility clinic is inhabited by a strange collection of teens. All boys, no females. Are these boys from bartered pregnancies like hers? Is the doctor a pedophile? Carly needs to know because there is no way she would ever let him take the second child only to be placed at risk. She challenges the doctor and weeps when she hears his answer.
The enigma of Island Bluffs challenges the very core of morality where forgiveness and retribution intersect. It plumbs the raw emotions of octogenarians who have survived the vilest scourge known to mankind – the mass extermination of the Jews – as the reader is drawn into the trials and tribulations of the Berk (née Berkowitz) family, who move to the laconic town of Island Bluffs on the Jersey shore to overcome their infertility issue at the hands of a most eccentric doctor. As the story unfolds it will, by turns, amaze and shock.
350 pages, Paperback
First published June 6, 2015
2 people are currently reading
299 people want to read
About the author
Alan A. Winter
7 books10 followers"Writing is rewriting," so said my teacher John Bowers. And I have lived by that lesson for more than 35 years. When I finished a draft of a book, it is just that, words on paper. It may be a story, it might even be a good story, but it is not writing. Writing, at least for me, takes numerous drafts until I am pleased with the finished work, that the sentences are lyrical, that the pace is perfect, and that the ending has just the right punch. That is writing.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 27, 2018
Wow. This one took me by surprise. A few pages in, I wondered: is this a mystery...a family drama...a WWII epic...something else...?
It's actually all those things rolled into one great novel. The plot centers around a WWII event that happened on US soil, which most people don't know existed - a little piece of history that will have you shaking your head in disbelief. There's a wonderful family named the Berks who move into the fictional idyllic seaside town called Island Bluffs, located on the New Jersey shore. The story of this family and their compelling backstory is also quite captivating. Besides this, there are several other colorful characters and a couple of minor storylines, which add to the main plotlines and are similarly gratifying. With a less skilled writer, the whole mischegas could have devolved into one confusing story, but here, author Winter wraps everything up nicely and it all makes sense.
If there's one flaw, it's in the editing. There are several blatant typos (including names that are spelled differently within one paragraph; foreign phrases that are incorrect), which really should have been cleaned up prior to publication.
Innovative. Historical. Intriguing. I really enjoyed reading this very homey, unique and fascinating novel and look forward to reading more of author Winter's work in the future.
It's actually all those things rolled into one great novel. The plot centers around a WWII event that happened on US soil, which most people don't know existed - a little piece of history that will have you shaking your head in disbelief. There's a wonderful family named the Berks who move into the fictional idyllic seaside town called Island Bluffs, located on the New Jersey shore. The story of this family and their compelling backstory is also quite captivating. Besides this, there are several other colorful characters and a couple of minor storylines, which add to the main plotlines and are similarly gratifying. With a less skilled writer, the whole mischegas could have devolved into one confusing story, but here, author Winter wraps everything up nicely and it all makes sense.
If there's one flaw, it's in the editing. There are several blatant typos (including names that are spelled differently within one paragraph; foreign phrases that are incorrect), which really should have been cleaned up prior to publication.
Innovative. Historical. Intriguing. I really enjoyed reading this very homey, unique and fascinating novel and look forward to reading more of author Winter's work in the future.
June 27, 2015
What would a couple agree to in order to have a biological child? Is anything too much? Carly and Gabe Berk face that question when all conventional attempts have failed. Gabe has a daughter from his first marriage but Carly is determined to have the whole experience of giving birth to a child herself. When they hear about “The Baby Maker”, Dr. Isadore Teplitsky, Carly is determined to take advantage of his reputation. Dr. Teplitsky guarantees Carly will become pregnant but only if she agree to the terms of his contract … she must agree to carry twins, one her biological child and the other a child for him, which she will give up at birth and never see again and in her last trimester she must move within 30 minutes of his clinic.
Although reluctant to leave NYC Gabe soon enough finds a house for them on Island Bluffs, a sleepy community on the Jersey shore. It’s a decrepit foreclosure that has sat empty for 60 years, but Gabe feels unexplainably drawn to the place. Almost before he realizes it himself he has torn the “for Sale” sign out of the front yard and began negotiating the purchase and renovation. Even before the first piece of furniture is off the moving van it becomes clear that the town hierarchy does not want the Berk’s to move into their house. But why? And, what are they trying to hide?
When I read the book description I was expecting a book about a sinister doctor and his evil schemes ala “The Boys from Brazil”. I wasn’t disappointed – I got a little bit of that. But, I also got SO much more. “Island Bluffs” is a book that has several concurrent story lines, and although that can get confusing and frustrating at times, in this book it works brilliantly because they are so intricately intertwined that it flows seamlessly. The writing is nice and tight so even when Mr. Winter has to take a break and explain some point of history (and there are a lot of historical facts in this book) it is woven so skillfully into the narrative that the thread and pace of the story is never interrupted. Well-done Mr. Winter!
The characters I enjoyed the most were those of Gabe Berk’s father, Yehuda, and Buck, the handyman. Both characters are octogenarians with tragic pasts that they have overcome with grit and determination. They become fast friends over the course of the book and supply the story with both tenderness and some humour.
There is no way to describe all the elements in this book without having to put a huge “Spoiler Alert” banner at the top of this post, which is something I always try to avoid. Let me just say, taking some of the best elements from “The Boys From Brazil”, “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming”, “Das Boot”, “Poltergeist” and “The Notebook” and rolling them into one cohesive story would come close to describing Mr. Winter’s page-turner.
The only negative comment I might have, and I am allowing some leeway since I received an ARC, is that it needed a better version of “Spellcheck”. Some of the errors were almost inexcusable, such as spelling the major character’s name wrong (Berk/Burk) and the little bit of dialogue that was written in German was really bad. Errors I hope are rectified in the final version.
Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone interested in a page turning read.
Although reluctant to leave NYC Gabe soon enough finds a house for them on Island Bluffs, a sleepy community on the Jersey shore. It’s a decrepit foreclosure that has sat empty for 60 years, but Gabe feels unexplainably drawn to the place. Almost before he realizes it himself he has torn the “for Sale” sign out of the front yard and began negotiating the purchase and renovation. Even before the first piece of furniture is off the moving van it becomes clear that the town hierarchy does not want the Berk’s to move into their house. But why? And, what are they trying to hide?
When I read the book description I was expecting a book about a sinister doctor and his evil schemes ala “The Boys from Brazil”. I wasn’t disappointed – I got a little bit of that. But, I also got SO much more. “Island Bluffs” is a book that has several concurrent story lines, and although that can get confusing and frustrating at times, in this book it works brilliantly because they are so intricately intertwined that it flows seamlessly. The writing is nice and tight so even when Mr. Winter has to take a break and explain some point of history (and there are a lot of historical facts in this book) it is woven so skillfully into the narrative that the thread and pace of the story is never interrupted. Well-done Mr. Winter!
The characters I enjoyed the most were those of Gabe Berk’s father, Yehuda, and Buck, the handyman. Both characters are octogenarians with tragic pasts that they have overcome with grit and determination. They become fast friends over the course of the book and supply the story with both tenderness and some humour.
There is no way to describe all the elements in this book without having to put a huge “Spoiler Alert” banner at the top of this post, which is something I always try to avoid. Let me just say, taking some of the best elements from “The Boys From Brazil”, “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming”, “Das Boot”, “Poltergeist” and “The Notebook” and rolling them into one cohesive story would come close to describing Mr. Winter’s page-turner.
The only negative comment I might have, and I am allowing some leeway since I received an ARC, is that it needed a better version of “Spellcheck”. Some of the errors were almost inexcusable, such as spelling the major character’s name wrong (Berk/Burk) and the little bit of dialogue that was written in German was really bad. Errors I hope are rectified in the final version.
Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone interested in a page turning read.
July 31, 2015
You’d never know it by the lovely cover, but this is a story that delves into the dark side.
And the title is an excellent choice as it can be construed different ways in the book.
Carly can’t conceive and she’s desperate to carry and deliver a child. She and her husband Gabe go above and beyond to have their baby, seeking help from a fertility specialist.
The doctor is supposed to work miracles and he does. Carly is now in her third trimester and it’s time to move.
When they first met with the doctor, he had some peculiar ideas. One deal breaker was, they had to move somewhere during the last trimester that was within a 30 minute drive of the clinic.
The other thing, the strange thing, is Carly must carry two embryos. One is from her and Gabe, the other is unknown. She will never see this other child. It belongs to the doctor.
Gabe is a boat nut. He never passes up a chance to be on the water. One day he spies a house on the peninsula of Island Bluffs. He’s inexplicably drawn to it. Despite Carly’s misgivings about the long empty and fixer upper, they buy it and move in.
So many angles in this book.
The strange doctor with his odd stipulations and deeply troubled past. What’s with the children? Why does he only want boys? My mind played havoc with the scenarios.
Megan, Gabe’s 17 year old daughter from his previous marriage. She’s still not over her mothers death and she’s playing the role of step-mother hate to the hilt. I had hopes she’d come around to Carly eventually. And her adoration and respect for her grandfather, Yehuda, is heartwarming.
You’ll like Yehuda. He’s a survivor of the holocaust, yet still sees good in people. He forms a friendship with Buck, the local eccentric and handy man. I loved their friendship.
Buck has his own story that ties into Carly and Gabe’s new house. Can’t tell you why though. Buck went off to war and had to leave his true love many years ago. When he returned he learned she’d gone missing and was never found. To this day, he still loves and misses her, and the police keep her yellowed missing poster up at the station in deference to him.
Then the house has a story. One that will surprise and chill you. Music is heard in the house when there’s no radio on. Voices are heard in the walls.
The town of Island Bluffs is shrouded in mystery. The people that live there are insular. They take time to warm up and accept the new family. And they keep many secrets.
This sounds like a horror thriller doesn’t it? You could call it that. But there’s mysteries in mysteries, darkness and light, and some very surprising revelations.
I was drawn in quickly and felt a connection to the characters. They each had their own flaws, which made them more genuine. I like strong characters and found plenty in this story.
Set aside some reading time when you start this. You won’t want any interruptions.
I received this book for my honest review.
And the title is an excellent choice as it can be construed different ways in the book.
Carly can’t conceive and she’s desperate to carry and deliver a child. She and her husband Gabe go above and beyond to have their baby, seeking help from a fertility specialist.
The doctor is supposed to work miracles and he does. Carly is now in her third trimester and it’s time to move.
When they first met with the doctor, he had some peculiar ideas. One deal breaker was, they had to move somewhere during the last trimester that was within a 30 minute drive of the clinic.
The other thing, the strange thing, is Carly must carry two embryos. One is from her and Gabe, the other is unknown. She will never see this other child. It belongs to the doctor.
Gabe is a boat nut. He never passes up a chance to be on the water. One day he spies a house on the peninsula of Island Bluffs. He’s inexplicably drawn to it. Despite Carly’s misgivings about the long empty and fixer upper, they buy it and move in.
So many angles in this book.
The strange doctor with his odd stipulations and deeply troubled past. What’s with the children? Why does he only want boys? My mind played havoc with the scenarios.
Megan, Gabe’s 17 year old daughter from his previous marriage. She’s still not over her mothers death and she’s playing the role of step-mother hate to the hilt. I had hopes she’d come around to Carly eventually. And her adoration and respect for her grandfather, Yehuda, is heartwarming.
You’ll like Yehuda. He’s a survivor of the holocaust, yet still sees good in people. He forms a friendship with Buck, the local eccentric and handy man. I loved their friendship.
Buck has his own story that ties into Carly and Gabe’s new house. Can’t tell you why though. Buck went off to war and had to leave his true love many years ago. When he returned he learned she’d gone missing and was never found. To this day, he still loves and misses her, and the police keep her yellowed missing poster up at the station in deference to him.
Then the house has a story. One that will surprise and chill you. Music is heard in the house when there’s no radio on. Voices are heard in the walls.
The town of Island Bluffs is shrouded in mystery. The people that live there are insular. They take time to warm up and accept the new family. And they keep many secrets.
This sounds like a horror thriller doesn’t it? You could call it that. But there’s mysteries in mysteries, darkness and light, and some very surprising revelations.
I was drawn in quickly and felt a connection to the characters. They each had their own flaws, which made them more genuine. I like strong characters and found plenty in this story.
Set aside some reading time when you start this. You won’t want any interruptions.
I received this book for my honest review.
February 15, 2016
Utterly desperate to have a child, one couple goes farther than most. Carla and Gabe go to a special doctor. He is a "baby maker". The terms are that she carries twins, one will not be hers. That child that isn't hers will be the one she gives up to the doctor. Carla will not get raise this child, or see it ever again. One more thing, she has to move 30 minutes away from Doctor Isidore Teplitsky's office.
So desperate to have a child, they move to Island Bluff's, and get a house that has been empty for 60 years. Excitement to move in and have a baby blinds this couple to the fact that the town does't want them. Why? What did they do?
What the heck is up with the town, and why does this house seem haunted in some ways?
This book was a good over all. I liked the small twists, even if I could see them coming. My copy came from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review and nothing more.
So desperate to have a child, they move to Island Bluff's, and get a house that has been empty for 60 years. Excitement to move in and have a baby blinds this couple to the fact that the town does't want them. Why? What did they do?
What the heck is up with the town, and why does this house seem haunted in some ways?
This book was a good over all. I liked the small twists, even if I could see them coming. My copy came from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review and nothing more.
July 15, 2017
NOTE: I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley for reviewing purposes! All opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced in any way! WARNING - there are spoilers in my review.
Right away, the first thing I notice about “Island Bluffs” is its stilted prose. The author definitely “tells” instead of “shows” us his story. We are told who is who and what the story will be about, rather than discovering it for ourselves in the course of reading this book. I thought this might dissipate as I read further, but unfortunately, this style of writing was consistent throughout. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
However, I do have to applaud the author for the plot of the story. It's not entirely unique, but the writer does put his own spin on the concept of nature v. nurture and forgiveness v. vengeance and does so in a story that is decently written. It's just that it took much too long to develop. The heart of the story for me was when Dr. Teplitsky explains to his attorney and the women of the Child Services office the genesis and goals of his “project”. But, as I said, the overall story was a long time in developing.
This may be a positive or a negative depending on your point of view, but the author does like to go into detail on background information. You will know more than you may care to about the origins of Long Beach Island (LBI) and particularly, Barnegat. Ditto for what constitutes forensic dentistry. And the description of the house the Berks move into. And the area surrounding Dr. Teplitsky's house/clinic. And....you get the picture.
Sprinkled throughout the story are cryptic comments and portentous admonishments. That can either irritate readers, or continue to draw them into the story. As for me, I'm neutral on Alan Winter's love of foreshadowing events in this manner.
The main eyebrow raising (two eyebrows even!) part of the book for me was that Carly – a forensic scientist no less – would ask virtually no questions when Dr. Teplitsky throws the unorthodox requirement that she carry to term a baby that will share gestation with her own biological child. I mean, who would be so willfully nonchalant and uninquisitive about this? That just boggles the sane mind! Another instance in which I have to call into question Carly's education were the long passages before she figured out for whom baby Adolpho was named. I already had an inkling of who the real “Adolpho” was supposed to be before it was revealed. So how could Carly, a brilliant scientist be so dense? Why did Gabe practically have to hit her over the head with the truth of his genetic background before she finally realized the truth?
Something else that boggles the mind is that given how paranoid and zealous certain interests were about not having anyone own or live at the Berk house, it's amazing that a “mistake” was the McGuffin that allowed the Berks to purchase the house. It's just hard to believe any entities (mayor, sheriff, building inspector, American Fertilizer Company) were are so zealous about the house/land but would have allowed this “mistake” to occur in the first place! I also don't understand how American Fertilizer Company could have owned the Berk house before World War 2 but then it lapsed into foreclosure, and that was how the Berks owned the house.
Yet another thing that completely confounds any sanity or reality is how quickly the state was able to process Dr. Teplitsky's DNA so they knew he was not the boys' biological father. Even a cursory understanding of how the process works is enough to know DNA results can't be processed in one day, yet that's what occurred in this novel!
Given Alan Winter's attention to detail in other aspects of this novel, I had to suspend disbelief about one part of Buck's story about how he didn't make it in time to marry Apollina. Although it was touching and heartfelt, when Buck says a Navy pilot flew him, as the sole “cargo” back East and there was “no issue about wasting fuel” with an empty plane flying East, I was immediately pulled out of the story. Anyone who knows anything about WW2 knows there was rationing of so many commodities – fuel being one of them – during this time period. Thus, I don't understand how the author could have gotten this so wrong!
It's not until the bones are found in the basement that the story finally gets going. Before that, there were lots of portentous pronouncements and vaguely threatening statements made by some long timers, like the Sheriff and Hank Gerhardt – who owns the local soda fountain. Speaking of Gerhardt it's a little amazing how many people are of German descent or have Germanic sounding names who live in Island Bluffs. Because I don't know anything about this particular part of New Jersey, I don't know if this is something that would be true to life or not. I just thought it peculiar, and wondered if it would have any bearing to the overall story. [ETA: Yes it does]
I really have to commend Alan Winter's research on forensic dentistry and ship salvage operations. His meticulous attention to details really shines through in the passages involving these disparate professions.
Alan Winter certainly has a way with words, as I didn't think I would ever read the following in any publication: “It (thunderclaps) cracks the air with a force that causes sphincters to tighten.” I'm not sure a poet laureate could have phrased this so erm, (in)elegantly...?
One of the main mysteries involved a man who liked swimming by himself in the sound; an elder gentleman named Larry Hanson, who was in reality Wilhelm Hoernberg, a member of the German submarine that was sunk in friendly fire off Barnegat Bay. When the mystery of Larry/Wilhem was solved, and it emerged that he lived for a time in the Berk house, the meeting between him and Buck was not only anti-climactic, it was also deflating. Nothing more was made of this plot point, so it was really unnecessary to the story to have introduced it in the first place.
Another part of the story that was anti-climactic was the realization of Dr. Teplitsky's “grand plan” which just needed Carly to be fully realized. Oftentimes in this novel, the doctor muses that his plan is close to fruition. Me, I'm still not sure what that plan is exactly. Did he intend for Carly and Gabe to adopt all the boys and raise them? I'm not sure why he would have planned such a project since how could he guarantee the couple would agree to raise the boys? Also, how could he engineer events so that he would be dead, thus leaving the path open for their adoption by the Berks?
Some may view the doctor's final “gift” to Buck as sweet and thoughtful. I don't. I found it creepy, weird and unrealistic that Apollina's clone would have her memories. No matter how much of a genius he was, I don't see how Dr. Teplitsky could have aged Apollina's clone close to Buck's age without severe repercussions to the clone's (called Ipolani) health – mentally and physically. I was on board with the cloning of the boys and all that entailed scientifically, but I felt Apollina's cloning ventured into pure science fantasy.
Finally, the great conspiracy to hide the truth about Larry Hanson and the German activities off the Jersey coast during WW2 were just overblown. I felt the story and events didn't warrant almost an entire town and citizenry to act the way they did to cover up The Truth. Again, I have to reiterate that this story was way too overlong for what it was. Considering that the author provided a concise summary of the events, the novel itself should have been pared down, way down. This is no more than a 3 star novel for me. The vocabulary and grammar are good, and the plot fairly decent, but it's unjustifiably overlong, and none of the characters really grabbed me.
Right away, the first thing I notice about “Island Bluffs” is its stilted prose. The author definitely “tells” instead of “shows” us his story. We are told who is who and what the story will be about, rather than discovering it for ourselves in the course of reading this book. I thought this might dissipate as I read further, but unfortunately, this style of writing was consistent throughout. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
However, I do have to applaud the author for the plot of the story. It's not entirely unique, but the writer does put his own spin on the concept of nature v. nurture and forgiveness v. vengeance and does so in a story that is decently written. It's just that it took much too long to develop. The heart of the story for me was when Dr. Teplitsky explains to his attorney and the women of the Child Services office the genesis and goals of his “project”. But, as I said, the overall story was a long time in developing.
This may be a positive or a negative depending on your point of view, but the author does like to go into detail on background information. You will know more than you may care to about the origins of Long Beach Island (LBI) and particularly, Barnegat. Ditto for what constitutes forensic dentistry. And the description of the house the Berks move into. And the area surrounding Dr. Teplitsky's house/clinic. And....you get the picture.
Sprinkled throughout the story are cryptic comments and portentous admonishments. That can either irritate readers, or continue to draw them into the story. As for me, I'm neutral on Alan Winter's love of foreshadowing events in this manner.
The main eyebrow raising (two eyebrows even!) part of the book for me was that Carly – a forensic scientist no less – would ask virtually no questions when Dr. Teplitsky throws the unorthodox requirement that she carry to term a baby that will share gestation with her own biological child. I mean, who would be so willfully nonchalant and uninquisitive about this? That just boggles the sane mind! Another instance in which I have to call into question Carly's education were the long passages before she figured out for whom baby Adolpho was named. I already had an inkling of who the real “Adolpho” was supposed to be before it was revealed. So how could Carly, a brilliant scientist be so dense? Why did Gabe practically have to hit her over the head with the truth of his genetic background before she finally realized the truth?
Something else that boggles the mind is that given how paranoid and zealous certain interests were about not having anyone own or live at the Berk house, it's amazing that a “mistake” was the McGuffin that allowed the Berks to purchase the house. It's just hard to believe any entities (mayor, sheriff, building inspector, American Fertilizer Company) were are so zealous about the house/land but would have allowed this “mistake” to occur in the first place! I also don't understand how American Fertilizer Company could have owned the Berk house before World War 2 but then it lapsed into foreclosure, and that was how the Berks owned the house.
Yet another thing that completely confounds any sanity or reality is how quickly the state was able to process Dr. Teplitsky's DNA so they knew he was not the boys' biological father. Even a cursory understanding of how the process works is enough to know DNA results can't be processed in one day, yet that's what occurred in this novel!
Given Alan Winter's attention to detail in other aspects of this novel, I had to suspend disbelief about one part of Buck's story about how he didn't make it in time to marry Apollina. Although it was touching and heartfelt, when Buck says a Navy pilot flew him, as the sole “cargo” back East and there was “no issue about wasting fuel” with an empty plane flying East, I was immediately pulled out of the story. Anyone who knows anything about WW2 knows there was rationing of so many commodities – fuel being one of them – during this time period. Thus, I don't understand how the author could have gotten this so wrong!
It's not until the bones are found in the basement that the story finally gets going. Before that, there were lots of portentous pronouncements and vaguely threatening statements made by some long timers, like the Sheriff and Hank Gerhardt – who owns the local soda fountain. Speaking of Gerhardt it's a little amazing how many people are of German descent or have Germanic sounding names who live in Island Bluffs. Because I don't know anything about this particular part of New Jersey, I don't know if this is something that would be true to life or not. I just thought it peculiar, and wondered if it would have any bearing to the overall story. [ETA: Yes it does]
I really have to commend Alan Winter's research on forensic dentistry and ship salvage operations. His meticulous attention to details really shines through in the passages involving these disparate professions.
Alan Winter certainly has a way with words, as I didn't think I would ever read the following in any publication: “It (thunderclaps) cracks the air with a force that causes sphincters to tighten.” I'm not sure a poet laureate could have phrased this so erm, (in)elegantly...?
One of the main mysteries involved a man who liked swimming by himself in the sound; an elder gentleman named Larry Hanson, who was in reality Wilhelm Hoernberg, a member of the German submarine that was sunk in friendly fire off Barnegat Bay. When the mystery of Larry/Wilhem was solved, and it emerged that he lived for a time in the Berk house, the meeting between him and Buck was not only anti-climactic, it was also deflating. Nothing more was made of this plot point, so it was really unnecessary to the story to have introduced it in the first place.
Another part of the story that was anti-climactic was the realization of Dr. Teplitsky's “grand plan” which just needed Carly to be fully realized. Oftentimes in this novel, the doctor muses that his plan is close to fruition. Me, I'm still not sure what that plan is exactly. Did he intend for Carly and Gabe to adopt all the boys and raise them? I'm not sure why he would have planned such a project since how could he guarantee the couple would agree to raise the boys? Also, how could he engineer events so that he would be dead, thus leaving the path open for their adoption by the Berks?
Some may view the doctor's final “gift” to Buck as sweet and thoughtful. I don't. I found it creepy, weird and unrealistic that Apollina's clone would have her memories. No matter how much of a genius he was, I don't see how Dr. Teplitsky could have aged Apollina's clone close to Buck's age without severe repercussions to the clone's (called Ipolani) health – mentally and physically. I was on board with the cloning of the boys and all that entailed scientifically, but I felt Apollina's cloning ventured into pure science fantasy.
Finally, the great conspiracy to hide the truth about Larry Hanson and the German activities off the Jersey coast during WW2 were just overblown. I felt the story and events didn't warrant almost an entire town and citizenry to act the way they did to cover up The Truth. Again, I have to reiterate that this story was way too overlong for what it was. Considering that the author provided a concise summary of the events, the novel itself should have been pared down, way down. This is no more than a 3 star novel for me. The vocabulary and grammar are good, and the plot fairly decent, but it's unjustifiably overlong, and none of the characters really grabbed me.
December 5, 2023
Island Bluffs by Alan A. Winter
350 Pages
Publisher: KBP Publishing, Independent Book Publishers Association, Members’ Titles
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Mystery, Thriller, Psychological
Island Bluffs is in an area near the Jersey Shore. Since Dr. Carly Mason is considered a high-risk pregnancy, her doctor and fertility specialist required to live close to the facility during the last three months. Her husband, Gabe Berk, finds an abandoned/foreclosed house for them near his grandmother’s old house. The house is old and since Gab did not investigate the property well enough, he depends on the engineers’ report. Now they find the area is not as friendly as they hoped because they are Jewish.
The doctor convinced Carly to be a surrogate and carry a second baby for him. She learns that he already has ten sons. She is approached by a woman outside the clinic. She tells Carly that is also was a surrogate. She is disturbed by that and begins to regret her decision. Gabe’s daughter, Megan, and his father, Yehuda find evidence in the basement that men used the area as an unusual meeting place.
The story has a nice steady pace. The characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. There is a lot of antisemitism and references to Nazis. It was a riveting read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.
350 Pages
Publisher: KBP Publishing, Independent Book Publishers Association, Members’ Titles
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Mystery, Thriller, Psychological
Island Bluffs is in an area near the Jersey Shore. Since Dr. Carly Mason is considered a high-risk pregnancy, her doctor and fertility specialist required to live close to the facility during the last three months. Her husband, Gabe Berk, finds an abandoned/foreclosed house for them near his grandmother’s old house. The house is old and since Gab did not investigate the property well enough, he depends on the engineers’ report. Now they find the area is not as friendly as they hoped because they are Jewish.
The doctor convinced Carly to be a surrogate and carry a second baby for him. She learns that he already has ten sons. She is approached by a woman outside the clinic. She tells Carly that is also was a surrogate. She is disturbed by that and begins to regret her decision. Gabe’s daughter, Megan, and his father, Yehuda find evidence in the basement that men used the area as an unusual meeting place.
The story has a nice steady pace. The characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. There is a lot of antisemitism and references to Nazis. It was a riveting read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.
June 16, 2015
http://openbooksociety.com/article/is...
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kayt
Let me start by saying I expected Island Bluffs to be an okay book with some intrigue and an interesting premise. I did not get what I expected at all. It was full of so many different mysteries, issues addressed, wild rides and “oh my gosh” moments. It is really hard to even begin to explain what this book is about. I was totally shocked by how many different sensitive issues were brought up and explored in this novel. Where I expected some form of evil or scary presences, I got a blast of smack in the face moments over and over again. It really defies words. Just hang on to your hat when you read this entrancing tome.
Island Bluffs has everything, seriously everything. A desperate couple trying everything to have a baby, teenage angst, history (both real and imagined), ghosts, lost love, intolerance, science and science fiction, family relationships, love, hate, anger, forgiveness. Seriously you cannot even begin to believe all the secrets this small town is harboring. Carly Mason and her husband Gabe Berk (Berkowitz) learn of a magic man that runs a clinic near the Jersey shore who can guarantee a pregnancy for the couple. Dr. Isadore Teplitsky (the baby maker) has a few bizarre requirements however. The couple must live near the clinic when Carly is near delivery date and the oddest requirement, she has to carry a surrogate child for the doctor as well as her own. The family moves into an abandoned home on the water front, the home of Gabe’s dreams and a home the town inadvertently forgot. They bring along Gabe’s troubled teenager daughter Megan, from his first marriage (his first wife passed away). Also along for the move is Gabe’s elderly father Yehuda Berkowitz who is a survivor of the Holocaust. They are not met by the welcome wagon.
Not only does the house itself hold secrets from World War II, but the townsfolk seem to be stuck in a time when the German Bund was prevalent in the area. Things are not what they seem. Strange discoveries occur in the home and thanks to Carly’s forensic knowledge some answers are eventually found. The way author Alan A. Winter ties and intertwines each story is true mastery. The characters are so full of life and their relationships are heartfelt. Every detail is needed and is in this book and each brings another snippet of this storyline or that or all of them to light. The suspense is thrilling. The emotions are raw and intense. Winter has woven an incredible story the likes of which I have not had the pleasure to read before.
I cannot begin to explain the different facets this jewel of a book has without giving away more of the mystery. It was such a true pleasure to get pulled in more and more after reading each page, I would hate to deprive the reader of that same gift. Island Bluffs was a treat to read. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a deep and intense novel that touches the heart, the mind and your morals. Alan A. Winter has written a book that makes the reader think, feel, cringe, scream and so much more. The mysteries keep coming and twisting and turning in this book. Hang on for a wild ride, even if it starts slow, do not be fooled. It will come to life with a vengeance and surprises lurk around each corner and page.
*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review as part of their ongoing blog tour*
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kayt
Let me start by saying I expected Island Bluffs to be an okay book with some intrigue and an interesting premise. I did not get what I expected at all. It was full of so many different mysteries, issues addressed, wild rides and “oh my gosh” moments. It is really hard to even begin to explain what this book is about. I was totally shocked by how many different sensitive issues were brought up and explored in this novel. Where I expected some form of evil or scary presences, I got a blast of smack in the face moments over and over again. It really defies words. Just hang on to your hat when you read this entrancing tome.
Island Bluffs has everything, seriously everything. A desperate couple trying everything to have a baby, teenage angst, history (both real and imagined), ghosts, lost love, intolerance, science and science fiction, family relationships, love, hate, anger, forgiveness. Seriously you cannot even begin to believe all the secrets this small town is harboring. Carly Mason and her husband Gabe Berk (Berkowitz) learn of a magic man that runs a clinic near the Jersey shore who can guarantee a pregnancy for the couple. Dr. Isadore Teplitsky (the baby maker) has a few bizarre requirements however. The couple must live near the clinic when Carly is near delivery date and the oddest requirement, she has to carry a surrogate child for the doctor as well as her own. The family moves into an abandoned home on the water front, the home of Gabe’s dreams and a home the town inadvertently forgot. They bring along Gabe’s troubled teenager daughter Megan, from his first marriage (his first wife passed away). Also along for the move is Gabe’s elderly father Yehuda Berkowitz who is a survivor of the Holocaust. They are not met by the welcome wagon.
Not only does the house itself hold secrets from World War II, but the townsfolk seem to be stuck in a time when the German Bund was prevalent in the area. Things are not what they seem. Strange discoveries occur in the home and thanks to Carly’s forensic knowledge some answers are eventually found. The way author Alan A. Winter ties and intertwines each story is true mastery. The characters are so full of life and their relationships are heartfelt. Every detail is needed and is in this book and each brings another snippet of this storyline or that or all of them to light. The suspense is thrilling. The emotions are raw and intense. Winter has woven an incredible story the likes of which I have not had the pleasure to read before.
I cannot begin to explain the different facets this jewel of a book has without giving away more of the mystery. It was such a true pleasure to get pulled in more and more after reading each page, I would hate to deprive the reader of that same gift. Island Bluffs was a treat to read. I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a deep and intense novel that touches the heart, the mind and your morals. Alan A. Winter has written a book that makes the reader think, feel, cringe, scream and so much more. The mysteries keep coming and twisting and turning in this book. Hang on for a wild ride, even if it starts slow, do not be fooled. It will come to life with a vengeance and surprises lurk around each corner and page.
*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review as part of their ongoing blog tour*
July 29, 2015
4.5 Stars (July 2015)
When this book was presented to me for review, I found the description interesting, but I wasn’t intrigued, in fact , I almost felt like the description summarized the book in too much detail and didn’t leave any surprises, I was wrong.
Gabe and Carly desperately want a child together, but after many failures, they find themselves at the mercy of a doctor, who agrees to help (and does indeed help) but with a few very strange conditions. Gabe’s teenage daughter, Megan, just wants her dead mother back, something she simply cannot have. Gabe’s father, Yehuda, doesn’t want to leave his longtime home in NYC, but also realizes his years are numbered and he wants to spend what time he has left living with his family.
One of the strange conditions from the eccentric fertility doctor is that the Berk family move within twenty or thirty minutes of the fertility clinic before Carly’s last trimester begins. This means finding a home, uprooting an emotional teenage daughter from her friends and school and moving an old man away from the home he’s known most of his life. When Gabe comes across an old abandoned house on a bluff overlooking the ocean, he’s drawn to it, even though the amount of work needed to make it livable will put his family into even more turmoil. The house is full of ghosts, literally and figuratively, and those ghosts are tied to the town of Island Bluffs in ways that the family couldn’t even imagine. To make things worse, the eccentric doctor’s additional condition was to have Carly carry two babies, one her own, the other to be given to the doctor at birth, no questions asked.
The story is strange, the writing style eclectic to the point that you feel like you’re reading multiple stories at once, then suddenly they converge and just as suddenly they separate again. At points, I felt like I knew where things were going and the story slowed down a bit, then the author throws in a new twist and you’re intrigued all over again. I enjoy stories that haunt me when I’m not reading them, this was definitely one of them, each time I put the book down I wanted to pick it right back up again. This story was very well written and the plot was one of the most original plots I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in a long time.
This book was provided to me for free for an honest and unbiased review (see all our reviews at http://www.bookexplosions.com/ or on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... )
When this book was presented to me for review, I found the description interesting, but I wasn’t intrigued, in fact , I almost felt like the description summarized the book in too much detail and didn’t leave any surprises, I was wrong.
Gabe and Carly desperately want a child together, but after many failures, they find themselves at the mercy of a doctor, who agrees to help (and does indeed help) but with a few very strange conditions. Gabe’s teenage daughter, Megan, just wants her dead mother back, something she simply cannot have. Gabe’s father, Yehuda, doesn’t want to leave his longtime home in NYC, but also realizes his years are numbered and he wants to spend what time he has left living with his family.
One of the strange conditions from the eccentric fertility doctor is that the Berk family move within twenty or thirty minutes of the fertility clinic before Carly’s last trimester begins. This means finding a home, uprooting an emotional teenage daughter from her friends and school and moving an old man away from the home he’s known most of his life. When Gabe comes across an old abandoned house on a bluff overlooking the ocean, he’s drawn to it, even though the amount of work needed to make it livable will put his family into even more turmoil. The house is full of ghosts, literally and figuratively, and those ghosts are tied to the town of Island Bluffs in ways that the family couldn’t even imagine. To make things worse, the eccentric doctor’s additional condition was to have Carly carry two babies, one her own, the other to be given to the doctor at birth, no questions asked.
The story is strange, the writing style eclectic to the point that you feel like you’re reading multiple stories at once, then suddenly they converge and just as suddenly they separate again. At points, I felt like I knew where things were going and the story slowed down a bit, then the author throws in a new twist and you’re intrigued all over again. I enjoy stories that haunt me when I’m not reading them, this was definitely one of them, each time I put the book down I wanted to pick it right back up again. This story was very well written and the plot was one of the most original plots I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in a long time.
This book was provided to me for free for an honest and unbiased review (see all our reviews at http://www.bookexplosions.com/ or on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... )
September 20, 2015
For those of you who are frequent readers of Reading Other People, you know of our preferences to read innovative and refreshing takes on life instead of the staid conventions that tend to comprise the pop culture canon. Alan A. Winter's incredibly entertaining "Island Bluffs", there is a new welcome addition to the subversion genre movement, and we are ecstatic about it. John Grisham or Dan Brown this is not. And that's a good thing.
At a compact 455 pages, Island Bluffs is so much more than your average thriller or mystery. Instead of exploiting the typical modes and formulas that comprise these genres, author Alan A. Winter instead opts to dissect what defines the human condition. Carly Mason and Gabe Berg, a power couple indeed, are trying to have a baby to no success. Hopeful but not unrealistic, the two learn of a scientist who may just be the resource to help them have a baby. However, this scientist is not without his own set of motives. Carly must agree to have twins, but they both won't end up being hers. One will be biologically hers, and the other, well, let's call it a surrogate.
Cary and Gabe must upend life as they know it and move to Island Bluffs, the isolated and Stephen King-esque town where the doctor lives. With Gabe's rebellious 16-year-old daughter in tow, the family tries to start a new life, and a new life, but soon discover that the picturesque town is not all that it seems. Cue the thriller/mystery/horror.
Instead of falling into the traps of telling the type of story that has been told a thousand times before where it is only locations and names that are the only things that seems to change, Winter presents a refreshing and tantalizing tale on life in all of its darkness and light. Winter deftly touches upon each character's motivation and relates that to a much bigger entity. He questions what really is right and wrong, and if there really are such clear-cut differences between the two. We zoomed through Island Bluffs in just a few days, and it has certainly earned its place on the Reading Other People mammoth bookshelf of the good ones.
Like this review? Read more like it at www.readingotherpeople.com
At a compact 455 pages, Island Bluffs is so much more than your average thriller or mystery. Instead of exploiting the typical modes and formulas that comprise these genres, author Alan A. Winter instead opts to dissect what defines the human condition. Carly Mason and Gabe Berg, a power couple indeed, are trying to have a baby to no success. Hopeful but not unrealistic, the two learn of a scientist who may just be the resource to help them have a baby. However, this scientist is not without his own set of motives. Carly must agree to have twins, but they both won't end up being hers. One will be biologically hers, and the other, well, let's call it a surrogate.
Cary and Gabe must upend life as they know it and move to Island Bluffs, the isolated and Stephen King-esque town where the doctor lives. With Gabe's rebellious 16-year-old daughter in tow, the family tries to start a new life, and a new life, but soon discover that the picturesque town is not all that it seems. Cue the thriller/mystery/horror.
Instead of falling into the traps of telling the type of story that has been told a thousand times before where it is only locations and names that are the only things that seems to change, Winter presents a refreshing and tantalizing tale on life in all of its darkness and light. Winter deftly touches upon each character's motivation and relates that to a much bigger entity. He questions what really is right and wrong, and if there really are such clear-cut differences between the two. We zoomed through Island Bluffs in just a few days, and it has certainly earned its place on the Reading Other People mammoth bookshelf of the good ones.
Like this review? Read more like it at www.readingotherpeople.com
September 29, 2015
Words, words, words and yet more words. Diversions, digressions, descriptions - all using way too many words. It seemed that the author
was trying to write the Great American Novel with elaborate, often
flowery descriptions. In my opinion, these detracted from what could
have been an interesting mystery "thriller". More to the point it would
have engaged my interest earlier. I nearly threw the book across the
room any number of times through the first 58% of the book. Yes, my
Kindle told me exactly when the book really engaged my interest. But,
by then, it was too late and I still could not love it.
The major characters were not well developed while many of the
peripheral ones were - Yehuda and Buck in particular.
The fantastical nature of the plot mostly did not disturb me.
I can live w/ ghosts. However, the events at the end of the book
and the resolution just were a bit much. I do not mean the scientific
aspects of what the good doctor did but the actual events at the end.
I finished the book much to my surprise and once I got to the last
32%, I read with interest. Maybe a good edit would help. I am always dismayed when I am compelled to give a fairly negative review to a
book that others have reviewed glowingly. But I have to call it as I read it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book.
was trying to write the Great American Novel with elaborate, often
flowery descriptions. In my opinion, these detracted from what could
have been an interesting mystery "thriller". More to the point it would
have engaged my interest earlier. I nearly threw the book across the
room any number of times through the first 58% of the book. Yes, my
Kindle told me exactly when the book really engaged my interest. But,
by then, it was too late and I still could not love it.
The major characters were not well developed while many of the
peripheral ones were - Yehuda and Buck in particular.
The fantastical nature of the plot mostly did not disturb me.
I can live w/ ghosts. However, the events at the end of the book
and the resolution just were a bit much. I do not mean the scientific
aspects of what the good doctor did but the actual events at the end.
I finished the book much to my surprise and once I got to the last
32%, I read with interest. Maybe a good edit would help. I am always dismayed when I am compelled to give a fairly negative review to a
book that others have reviewed glowingly. But I have to call it as I read it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book.
November 9, 2015
Have you ever read a novel and felt that you had “been there, done that” before? That is the feeling I had while reading Alan Winter’s ISLAND BLUFFS. The story of forensic dentist Carly Mason and her husband Gabe Berk who, having exhausted innumerable tries to have a baby, relocate from Manhattan to Island Bluffs at the direction of a eccentric scientist/fertility doctor named Teplitsky, a man who guarantees them not one child but twins. Desperate to conceive, Carly will do almost anything to have a child of her own - - even if it means agreeing to the crazy conditions set forth by the doctor.
Island Bluffs itself is an insular town peppered with some unusual yet likable characters, like BUCK, the local handyman. The town and its residents all have their stories and a heretofore undisclosed history. Even the house purchased by the Berks holds secrets.
On the readability meter you will find ISLAND BLUFFS to be a trip to the dark side of human nature that is reminiscent of Ira Levin novels such as ROSEMARY’S BABY, THE STEPFORD WIVES, AND THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL with Alan Folsom’s THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and a touch of FAUST thrown in for good measure.
Island Bluffs itself is an insular town peppered with some unusual yet likable characters, like BUCK, the local handyman. The town and its residents all have their stories and a heretofore undisclosed history. Even the house purchased by the Berks holds secrets.
On the readability meter you will find ISLAND BLUFFS to be a trip to the dark side of human nature that is reminiscent of Ira Levin novels such as ROSEMARY’S BABY, THE STEPFORD WIVES, AND THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL with Alan Folsom’s THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and a touch of FAUST thrown in for good measure.
August 23, 2015
Have you ever read a novel and felt that you had “been there, done that” before? That is the feeling I had while reading Alan Winter’s ISLAND BLUFFS. The story of forensic dentist Carly Mason and her husband Gabe Berk who, having exhausted innumerable tries to have a baby, relocate from Manhattan to Island Bluffs at the direction of a eccentric scientist/fertility doctor named Teplitsky, a man who guarantees them not one child but twins. Desperate to conceive, Carly will do almost anything to have a child of her own - - even if it means agreeing to the crazy conditions set forth by the doctor.
Island Bluffs itself is an insular town peppered with some unusual yet likable characters, like BUCK, the local handyman. The town and its residents all have their stories and a heretofore undisclosed history. Even the house purchased by the Berks holds secrets.
On the readability meter you will find ISLAND BLUFFS to be a trip to the dark side of human nature that is reminiscent of Ira Levin novels such as ROSEMARY’S BABY, THE STEPFORD WIVES, AND THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL with Alan Folsom’s THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and a touch of FAUST thrown in for good measure.
Island Bluffs itself is an insular town peppered with some unusual yet likable characters, like BUCK, the local handyman. The town and its residents all have their stories and a heretofore undisclosed history. Even the house purchased by the Berks holds secrets.
On the readability meter you will find ISLAND BLUFFS to be a trip to the dark side of human nature that is reminiscent of Ira Levin novels such as ROSEMARY’S BABY, THE STEPFORD WIVES, AND THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL with Alan Folsom’s THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and a touch of FAUST thrown in for good measure.
May 30, 2015
Island Bluffs is the story of a family who moves into a house that has been unoccupied for years and is full of dark secrets. The house is located on the Jersey shore of Barnegat Bay. It is ouside a small town where some of the townspeople don't want the secrets revealed and want the house empty again. Island Bluffs has two storylines going-one about the past and secrets of the house and the other about the present and the family who has moved into it. Both stories blend together nicely. The plots are solid and the characters are well developed. This book has layers like peeling an onion,each layer a pleasant surprise. This book was an enjoyable read and kept me wanting to see what was going to happen next. It ended with a great finish, tying everything up nicely. I received this book free from NetGalley for an honest review, which is what I just wrote. Try the book. You'll enjoy it's many twists and turns.
May 10, 2015
Island Bluffs by Alan A. Winter was a. very good read. 4 stars.
Carly and Gabe Berk have been to all of NYC's top fertility experts. Carly is desperate for a child of her own and has found a miracle doctor who will be able to give Carly what no one else can...
How far would you go to have a child of your own?
Would you agree to carry twins with only one being your biological child? Would you agree to be a surrogate and give up one child at birth with no questions asked?
Carly and Gabe Berk have been to all of NYC's top fertility experts. Carly is desperate for a child of her own and has found a miracle doctor who will be able to give Carly what no one else can...
How far would you go to have a child of your own?
Would you agree to carry twins with only one being your biological child? Would you agree to be a surrogate and give up one child at birth with no questions asked?
June 16, 2015
Island Bluffs is an interesting story by Alan A. Winter. It is like 2 stories combined into one novel and at times it feels like 2 different authors (to me, anyhow). Part of the time it felt like Mr. Winter was off to the side telling us what we were seeing and other times felt like a regular novel. Island Bluffs kept me turning the pages and kept me guessing. Very enjoyable read. I was given an early copy to review.
July 4, 2015
I really liked how the author assembled the air of intrigue and history surrounding Island Bluffs and the people who lived there. I was really prepping myself for something horrific to happen after the family move in. I didn't get the horror I was prepared for, but I did get a fascinating story about nature vs. nurture and the healing of historic wounds.
September 2, 2015
I received this book in a first reads giveaway for an honest review and honestly...... I loved it! I was totally interested in the characters and couldn't read it fast enough. The story was very intriguing and full of surprises. Two thumbs up Mr. Winter!!!!!
Want to read
October 31, 2017Thanks, Goodreads for making me a lucky winner of this novel!
I look forward to reading and reviewing this book.
I look forward to reading and reviewing this book.
June 21, 2015
Great book! Another awesome win on Goodreads! I loved everything about this one...the setting,the people...it's great. Perfect summer reading!
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