Customer Reviews

The Jekyl Island Club

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
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Many Georgians and many tourists enjoy the recreation and relaxation of Jekyll Island, one of the jewels of Georgia's "Golden Isles." One of the attractions for visitors to the Island is staying at, or visiting, the restored hotel, The Jekyll Island Club, and touring the "cottages" built by the millionaires who originally developed the island more than one hundred years ago. In The Jekyl Island Club, Brent Monahan takes us back to the time when J. P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, and other tycoons and robber barons vacationed in splendor, and ran their little island as part of their fiefdoms. When one of the guests on the island is found dead from a gunshot, however, they have to acknowledge the local authority, at least enough to have the Brunswick sheriff make official their idea of what happened. Enter John Le Brun, high sheriff of Brunswick and a person with good reason to hold a grudge against the captains of industry who occupy what was formerly his home. Le Brun has his own problems, including a brand new chief deputy who recently returned home is disgrace from Philadelphia and is the son of the local judge. The judge is not a fan of the sheriff's, and is totally in the pocket of the Jekyl Island Club membership. In launching his investigation Le Brun must face the disdain, if not enmity, of club members and some of their staff; concerns about the loyalty of his own deputy; his own feelings; and his sense of justice. The pressure is on, in part because President McKinley is soon to visit the Island, traveling over from Thomasville where he is vacationing at the vacation home of his advisor, Ohio Senator Hanna, to meet with the some of the millionaires and House Speaker Reed, a guest of Morgan's. President McKinley's visit actually happened, and Monahan uses that historical fact and the residual glamor of the Jekyl Island Club, to fashion a neat little mystery. In an afterword Monahan also notes that before and after the millionaires' ownership, Jekyll was spelled with two "l's." While it was their private preserve, there was only one. While this book is not a great mystery, it is a solid one. The greatest charm, however, is in its bringing to life the era of conspicuous opulence and filling out the pictures today's visitors to Jekyll Island have in their imaginations.

I am not a Southern native, but I have had the great pleasure of a weekend at the Jekyll Island Club. There, over oysters and champagne you can can easily imagine a long forgotten patrician America, who spent their weekends "roughing it" in unmatched splendor. One can still have brunch there, served by starched, tuxedo-clad waiters, after whcih play croquet on the lawn or golf on a pretty good course once the property of the Goodyears and the Morgans.

This is the wonderful setting for a period mystery by experienced author Brent Moynahan, who deftly crafts a tale of murder, revenge, avarice and envy set in a prestigious capitalist resort. One of the members, limited by invitation only to the 100 richest men in the US, Erastus Springer, has been found dead, apparantly shot during his morning constitutional. John LeBrun, Brunswick sherriff has been called almost as an afterthought to solve the case, presumably with the least fuss possible to the powerful members. LeBrun, who is above corruption, is thwarted by the members, especially J.P. Morgan and Joseph Pulizer, arch captialist and arch populist rivals in everything except their rabid dedication to the Club.

If flawed, this novel is not the nail-biting suspenseful mystery that leads us along with crumbs of evidence to the great "aha" at the end. It does though admirably succeed in its characterization of the people, especially of the very rich and vary poor, who made fin-de-siecle America, and lived bathed in the resntments and ignorance of the War of Northern Agression. It beautifully paints Georgia of the era and tells a story as much tension and grit as charm and wit. By the satisfying end we care less about the plot reaching its logical conclusion as we do seeing a good man prevail. Heartily recommeended, and and admirable Summer read, especially if you are poolside at one of the Barrier Island resorts.

The Jeyll Island Club by Brent Monahan was a geat read. Moody, mysterious, filled with fascinating historical detail, and introducing a new hero in retired sheriff John Le Brun. The book has all everything you need to spend an evening in a comfortable chair with your mind wandering into the strange past of Jekyll Island. Definitely a thinking-man's thriller.

The Jekyl Island Club was my first exposure to Monahan and probably not my last. Monahan's book, set in the late 18oo's pits a crafty, columbo-like cop against an overconfident crew of money men to solve a murder on Jekyl Island. This is a page-turning "historical murder mystery" you shouldn't miss.

I have bought at least a dozen copies of this book as gifts for friends over the last year. Amazon does gift wrap! After visiting Jekyll Island (with two "L"'s now) for 20 years, I finally bought a home there - and love it! This book will pique your interest in this picturesque and unusual island and provide you with a great historical background - and entertain at the same time.

Once you've read the book, book your vacation there. You can stay in J.P. Morgan's apartment and sit on the veranda of the club and enjoy the atmosphere and ambiance that entranced a generation of millionaires a century ago. It's all still there, and this book really brings it all to life.

The book rips right along, but the ending is a bit flat. But given the corner the author has written himself into, it is forgivable. All in all, a good read.

When I read about this book, I was fascinated and very intrigued. I just finished the book and I have to say that I just wasn't impressed. The ending is a bit of a surprise, but getting there is much too long and drawn out, almost as if the author needed to add details to try to show you as much of the atmosphere, history, and people as he could. At times this really bogs down the story, too much attention to detail. And at times I didn't always feel I was there. Some parts seemed anachronistic and at one point the author points out when fingerprinting is first introduced, but this is later than the 1899 of the book, too jarring. It is definitely a good read for a trip, which is when I read it, but I was left with a feeling of "the book is OK".

I have visited Jekyll all my life and worked there for six summers. Before the clubhouse was renovated, we used to swim in the pool. Even with all this exposure to the historic district, I can't wait to go back and revisit the homes and enjoy the atmosphere, sights and sounds of the historic district - all the imagery found in this novel. The book does indeed make you wonder if in fact the author knows of things kept hidden from the public by the secretive elite members of the Jekyll Island Club.

It starts out a little slow (some very long chapters) but soon you are hooked. The fascination of moguls of that time and their impact on our history. Well written. You wish there were other books about Sheriff John Le Brun and his crime solving abilities.

Brent Monahan has created a delightful series beginning with the Jekyl Island Club. The sheriff is a comfortable 'character' who relates to the reader. As historical fiction it takes the reader into the past when the 'Robber Barons' lived and breathed. This series are 'keepers' for my library. What a great idea for a stocking stuffer this Christmas.

Pretty cool book - the ties between the characters and persons they portray are incredible... i found myself questioning, could this be real or is it just fiction...