Customer Reviews

Amagansett

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Amagansett" not only captivates, but satisfies deeply - the sort of book every avid reader searches for. This author has mastered the art of timing - dropping information at just the right intervals to keep the reader turning pages.

It's the summer of 1947, and two Amagansett fishermen pull a woman's lifeless body from the ocean. What then unravels is the story of a handful of players in this small, Long Island town. Who was this woman? Was she murdered? If so, by whom?

The prose is simply beautiful. Here's an excerpt where Mills describes how Sag Harbor has slipped into decline: "Like some dowager princess fallen on hard times, the evening gown may have been a little frayed around the edges, but the jewels were real. No other South Fork town could boast a Main Street to match, with its imposing brick edifices, its mansions, and its stores with their generous plate-glass windows." The book is filled with such metaphors, and I found myself basking in them like a wine connoisseur tasting a high flavored Bordeaux.

A compelling story, wonderfully told!

Without reiteerating the story line --I would say that in many ways, it is a history book. And, the history of the time, area and people -- all are meticulously researched. I bought this book because I love the Nelson DeMille books...they're quick, enticing and full of punch. And, DeMille wrote a stellar recommendation. But, I found that Amagansett was a slower read and required more discipline than a DeMille. I couldn't just pick it up and find my place -- all other details easily gathered from my memory. The story line certainly became predictable -- unlike most DeMilles - nonetheless, I heartily recommend it. It is a book to savor - not consume quickly.

A very character driven and slowed paced mystery set in post WWII Long Island.

I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was slow, the characterization rich and the mystery quite involving. It's was also set in Long Island, where I live, in one of my favorite areas of the island - so I 'knew' many of the places mentioned in the book.

When Conrad Labarde is out fishing one morning he finds the body of Lily Wallace - the daughter of one of the wealthier 'summer people'. The local police officer, Tom Hollis, a recent NYC transplant is willing to accept the coroner's cause of death as suicide by drowning, until Conrad begins to point out some conflicting evidence. Conrad then mentions one name to Hollis, Lizzie Jenks, a young victim of a hit and run two years earlier. What does Lillian have to do with Lizzie and more to the point what does Conrad know about it?

Very complex, beautifully written and well researched this is a book to savor. The portrait of the Long Island fisherman, once the main livelihood of the east coast, now virtually extinct, is fascinating in and of itself. Not for lovers of slash and burn thrillers, this is a more literary take on a murder mystery.

Amagansett is an elegantly written tale of love and murder in a 1947 backwater town at the beginning of changing from fishing village and smugglers cove to resort for the rich.

Written in an authentic voice of the area Amagansett accurately expresses the tensions between the locals and the summer people. There is much history here as well; Mr. Mills has clearly done his homework on the south shore of Long Island, NY.

Mills explains how the rich almost always get their way and how much courage and intelligence it takes to face them down.

This is a beautifuly crafted piece of literature and a haunting page turner of a story.

This is a very atmospheric thriller set at the Eastern end of Long Island in the forties.

Mark Mills really draws the reader into the period, and the book has an almost cinematic quality to it (have I read Mills has worked in the film industry?).

The characters are well drawn and believable and the plot unfolds at a measured pace. The story doesn't flag at any time.

The main characters are a policeman and fisherman. Both are in search of the truth surrounding the murder of a wealthy socialite, and both bring their own pasts, personalities and circumstances to bear on the story.

This was a very enjoyable read. Highly recommended. At the time of writing this review it is labelled as a bargain book- at the price offer it cerainly is.

So maybe it is because I finished this book on the beaches of Long Island that I was so pleased with it, but the fact remains that the author does an incredible job of painting the picture of Amagansett in the 40s. The character development and scenic descriptions are incredible. Once you get past the first 40-50 pages, you get most of the names straight and it is smooth sailing after that. A very good story, well told. A much better read than Atonement.