Two more great novels set on Maine islands

After thoroughly enjoying the novel Matinicus – An Island Mystery by Darcy Scott, I quickly ordered two of Darcy’s other novels, Reese’s Leap and Margel’s Madness.

Matinicus – An Island Mystery won a best mystery award in the 2013 Indie Book Awards.

Scott’s character’s are complex and compelling. Some of the characters in Reese’s Leap were also in the Matinicus novel, although the plot, set on a 200 acre island, is very different. Scary, I have to say, but I don’t want to give away the plot so I will stop there.

I really enjoyed Margel’s Madness, an entirely different story with new characters and a very interesting and intriguing plot. There is murder and mayhem, again on a Maine island, with the main character being a lady with daughter who came to the island to escape the horrors of her past life.

The story is complex and includes a wealthy off-islander intent on building a huge development on the quiet island. Things get a little wacky when a pregnant lady’s body is found in the water under a bridge that the town has just begun to repair.

Again I don’t want to give away the whole story, but it’s a good one, and Scott really has a talent for describing and capturing Maine’s wonderful islands.

That may be because she’s a live-aboard sailor and ocean cruiser, and her favorite cruising ground is the coast of Maine. I can only hope that none of these plots are based on her experiences on our islands!
Both books were designed and produced by Maine Authors Publishing in Rockland which does a great job of helping independent authors publish their books.

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.