Customer Reviews

Inner Passages (Michael Tanner Mystery)

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Michael Tanner, a modern-day Captain Ahab, spends the entire length of "Inner Passages" hunting down the whale. In this case, however, the whale in question is a large white ship that deliberately ran down his yacht, killing his wife and a friend. With an obsession that rivals that of Melville's hero, Tanner gives up virtually his entire normal life to track down the offending boat, risking life and limb and career to do so.

Tanner finds that few people believe his story of the killer ship, encountered in the fog. He has few clues to go by, other than three letters of the ship's name and the distinctive sound of her engines. His friends and coworkers watch him self-destruct and then undergo a Phoenix-like resurrection as he wanders up and down the west coast, hanging out in waterfront dives, trying to find anyone who has a glimmer of information about his nemesis.

"Inner Passages" is a first novel, and that shows in many ways. While the linear plot is intriguing and engrossing, some of the execution is amateurish. Released by a small Texas publisher, the book would have been served by a firmer editorial hand. Too often, the viewpoint shifts randomly within a given scene. As early as the first pages of the novel, characters "info dump" in long expository passages intended to convey reams of information to the reader. Even though Brookins has other characters make fun of the "dumper," the end result is still the same.

Some of the dialog is stilted and awkward and there several coincidential occurances that are too convenient for fiction. Characters forget important details, only to remember them when they are needed most.

Brookins, however, knows his nautical details. His descriptions of the sounds and straights of the northwest are vivid and alive. Even when the character motivation is a bit muddled as they play a game of cat-and-mouse (and it's not clear who is the cat and who is the mouse from page to page) with the killer ship, the sensory details are strong and realistic. The fog banks are thick and palpable. A scene in which a yacht tips over when it runs aground as the tide goes out is particularly memorable and innovative.

The book is also filled with the intricate details of handling a yacht under a variety of circumstances, some of which is important to the plot and some of which merely helps to fill in the landscape with accurate but not overwhelming color.

So, does Ahab get his whale in the end? That would be telling... It is safe to say, however, that Tanner learns how to live after the loss of his wife and gains a new focus on life and career in the wake of his two-year hunt for the mysterious killer ship that came out of the fog.

Brookins' first book is a success. He follows the mystery genre's rules, and it works for him. There's early murder (Michael Tanner's wife and a friend), a well-defined and likable character in conflict (Tanner), a beautiful setting (the Inner Passage), a premise he can write knowledgeably about (sailing), love interest (Mary Whitney), and a smoothly rendered plot.

The straight forward, no nonsense writing style bends toward literary, with much of the tale spent in evocative exposition on the Northwest's Inner Passage and sailing in general. Some readers might find the suspense a bit bland, as if the plot were developed as an excuse to write about sailing, something Brookins obviously knows a lot about and enjoys.

I liked the story, and think most mystery readers and all lovers of sailing and the sea will too. Watch for more from Carl Brookins.

As he made his final preparations on the Queen Anne sloop for their sailing of British Columbia's Inside Passage, successful public relations exec Michael Tanner thought the world is good. Accompanied by his beloved wife Beth and their friend Alice, Michael looks forward to the short trip to Texada Island. An hour later, the fog engulfs the three sailors. However, not too log after that, a big yacht purposely follows and rams the Queen Anne, knocking Michael out.

When Michael reawakens, the Coast Guard informs him that his wife and friend have vanished and are assumed dead. No one believes Michael that the accident was deliberate. Unable to cope with the depression and grief, Michael seeks closure. He obsessively goes after the mysterious yacht that destroyed his life seeking vengeance.

INNER PASSAGES is an absorbing thriller that works because debut author Carl Brookins makes the various water routes seem beautifully alive. The action is non-stop as Michael faces his own inner demons and guilt (he insisted on sailing) to battle an unknown enemy. The climax is powerful and believable although a subplot involving Mary Whitney, a traveling companion during Michael's odyssey, seems stretched. Mr. Brookins deserves a large audience for a fast-paced novel starring a broken hero.

In this debut novel, the author does a fine job of interweaving a suspenseful mystery with an exciting tale of the sea. Brookins uses his obvious knowledge of sailing to good advantage, and he creates a marvelous (and often malevolent) landscape in which to maneuver. Strong characters and well-observed details make this enjoyable read a worthy offering in the genre.

Inner Passages is set on the waterway between Puget Sound and the Northern end of Vancouver Island along the western coast of British Columbia. Michael Tanner a prosperous Seattle public relations executive and a lover of sailing, plans a sailing trip to Texada Island with his wife Beth and their friend Alice.

Shortly after the trip begins, a heavy fog rolls in making it hard to see. Alice's suggestion to go back is quickly over-ruled. Michael cuts the engine to listen for other boats. Sometime later the fog breaks revealing a large white yacht fifty feet in front of them. When Beth waves at the three people on the deck, the engines on the yacht came alive and head away from them. Suddenly the yacht turns heading straight for the Queen Anne. Michael is able to get out of the way on the first pass but when the yacht comes around again, a man shoots at them, hitting the mast. The sailboat, no match for the large yacht, dies and sinks to the bottom of the sea. The dinghy, carrying the battered and unconscious Tanner, grounds itself on the southern tip of Lasqueti Island. After months of depression, Tanner decides to search for the murderers of Beth and Alice.

Carl Brookins weaves a suspenseful tale of the loss of love, murder, feelings of guilt and redemption. His descriptions of the surroundings are so vivid you feel as if you are there, I even thought that I smelled salt water. Wonderfully written with a powerful ending.

Carl Brookins' extensive knowledge of the sea and sailing shows up admirably in this first novel--although the landlubber reader may have to flip back occasionally to make sure of a term. The suspense is deftly handled, and the plot suspenseful and well-driven. It was refreshing for this reader to discover the love plot sensitively but non-pruriently handled, a factor that will probably be changed if the book is made into a movie, which destiny it well deserves.

The story of a man who suffers the loss of his wife, their friend and his boat from a deliberate attack at sea, leads to a suspenseful, event-filled nautical tale.

Michael Tanner goes down the tubes after this incident and then picks himself up and proceeds to find out what really happened and why.

Carl Brookins' love of sailing and his love of language combine in a very descriptive story. I knew nothing about sailing and yet I could easily follow what was happening.

The author's sense of place is excellent. I felt I was there and can still feel the experience in my memory.

Although I am unsure how I feel about the ending, perhaps it is the most realistic one possible.

Thanks to Carl Brookins for increasing my awareness and knowledge about sailing and for a very entertaining read. ----Karen Dyer

INNER PASSAGES is about the ramming of a sailboat in Desolation Sound off the coast of British Columbia. The protagnoist, Michael Tanner, a public relations executive from Seattle, loses his wife and her best friend. The authorities don't take Tanner seriously when he insists his boat was rammed on purpose, and he begins a lonely search for a yacht named Goldenrod.
The strength of INNER PASSAGES is the setting: the waterways along the coast of British Columbia between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Brookins also has more than a layman's knowledge of sailing.
I had problems with motivation. Why would the yacht, whether it was running drugs or whatever, call attention to itself by attacking a civilian boat unaware of its intent? Brookins does take us aboard Goldenrod at times, but he never does address the issue.
The author's penchant for jumping out of third person limited into omniscient point of view also bothered me. On page 82, I was sure I was missing a page. Without white space or anything, Brookins jumps from Tanner's internal monologue to a sailor aboard the Goldenrod. Brookins also doesn't trust the reader. He ruins the climax by telegraphing what's going to happen. Also, for most of the book, Tanner is alone. Whenever that happens, there's a tendency for too much interior monologue, which really slows the pace. Three-quarters of the way in, Michael acquires a lady friend and the story becomes more engrossing.
Mary Whitney and Michael Tanner are likable characters, but it's always dangerous when a human antagonist is missing.