Fire Island Summer (Five Star Expressions) [Hardcover]

Julie Ellis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Revenge isn't all it's cracked up to be in this thin tale of romantic suspense from Ellis (Silent Rage) with its clever if underdeveloped conceit—preteen assassins. Anne Evans is a young widow and junior high school counselor in the South Bronx whose 1992 summer break on Fire Island leads to a relationship with Mark Cameron, an angry ex-con fresh out of prison after serving six years for a rape he didn't commit. When Mark discovers Anne is the stepdaughter of Lila Schrieber, the woman (now dead, along with Anne's beloved dad) who framed him, their love affair suffers. Once a college student aspiring to Columbia Law, Mark has now decided to get rich and get even by "setting up a syndicate of very young 'hit kids' "—a team of 12-year-old sociopaths, including Joey Devlin, a boy Anne's determined to save. Anne's love and a neighbor's startling revelation regarding the man Lila had actually been with on the night of the alleged rape spurs Mark to a change of heart. But is there time to stop a lethal plot he's set in motion to clear his name? (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Anne Evans is a social worker in New York who wonders if she'll ever make a difference. She plans to spend the summer at her family's Fire Island summerhouse considering her options while sorting through her father's possessions, and finally accepting his death. Mark Cameron's promising law career crashed when he was convicted of a rape he did not commit. He is out of prison and has a new life plan motivated by revenge and including an idea for establishing a team of hit men comprised of sociopathic juveniles who have no trouble committing murder. Anne and Mark meet on the beach and are instantly attracted, but reality intrudes when Mark realizes that Anne's stepmother is the woman who lied and put him behind bars. What will Anne do when she finds out about Mark's nefarious plan? Ellis' latest detailed and dramatic novel is a doozy. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 234 pages
• Publisher: Five Star (ME) (August 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594144745
• ISBN-13: 978-1594144745
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,271,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fine romantic crime drama, August 24, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire Island Summer (Five Star Expressions) (Hardcover)

Still grieving the deaths of her parents who died a few months ago in a car accident, Bronx Junior High School psychiatrist Anne Evans plans to use her summer vacation time to close up their home on Fire Island. However, before leaving she remains concerned with twelve years old Joey Devlin, a child she believes can be saved from a life of crime if he can be weaned away from his psychopath friends Luis Perez and Frank Smith.

Former law student Mark Cameron is freed after spending six years in prison for rape, a crime he swears he did not commit. He and his former cellmate Chuck Ryan plan to make money and avenge his incarceration starting with moving into his mother's home on Fire Island with her living in Florida to escape his disgrace. When Mark and Anne meet they are attracted to one another. She mentions Joey who he believes is the perfect final pawn in his scheme. That is until he realizes Anne is his conscience and good luck charm as he finds proof to prove his innocence, but must risk his life to prevent the murder as Chuck is a sociopath who refuses to abort the plan.

Mark makes the tale a fascinating character whose life has been ruined so he sets in motion a plan of revenge until he meets Anne, who gives him a reason to live again (along with the new evidence_ though he originally saw her as an avenue to further his scheme. Chuck is too crazy making him more than just a stereotype, but ironically that also works well when he refuses to allow his partner to pull the plug on their caper. Readers will enjoy this fine romantic crime drama wondering whether love or revenge will win out.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining-good read, September 20, 2006

By 

D. Seidl (NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fire Island Summer (Five Star Expressions) (Hardcover)

This is a nice little story that will keep readers, especially people familiar with L.I., entertained.Quick, easy reading. Romance, a little suspense and a good setting for both. However, there is a glaring mistake on page 157 where Anne goes to Mark's house, hears the dog Hannibal scratching at the door, and it reads as follows - "She went inside, made love to him, then let him out the back for a run". Oops! A blooper, I hope.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I'd skip this one if I were you, June 1, 2007

By 

D. Lange "volleyball mom" (Port Republic, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire Island Summer (Five Star Expressions) (Hardcover)

This was the first book I've read by this author, and it will be the last. I found the plot preposterous (way too many coincidences), and the characters shallowly developed. Also, I found the author's writing style to be irritating. In that she does not write in complete sentences. With subjects and predicates. Some of the characters (Chuck and the boys, especially), seemed more suited to a 1930s movie...some of the dialogue was very dated, and the whole scheme with the 12-year-old hit men was just stupid.

The previous reviewer referred to the sentence dealing with "making love" to the dog. I picked up on that as well, but unfortunately, I don't think it was an editorial mistake but instead a "cute" way of saying she petted and praised the dog...ugh!!

There's nothing wrong with reading for pure escapism, but I don't think this is even a good beach read. Don't waste your time.