Windless Summer [Kindle Edition]

Heather Sharfeddin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sharfeddin revisits many of the themes from Blackbelly and Mineral Spirits—rural life, crime and punishment, the supernatural—while striking some new chords in this bleak look at Rocket, Wash., and its unlucky inhabitants. Tom Jemmet is the widower owner of the rundown Jemmet Motel, and his relationship with his autistic 12-year-old daughter, Sienna, takes center stage in a plot packed with secrets—including the death of Tom's wife several years ago. As the summer progresses, this town, usually teeming with tourists, suffers a slow death thanks to a lack of wind, which normally brings surfers to the nearby Columbia River. After news of a strange accident befalling a motel guest hits the news (courtesy of local reporter Hap Mitsui), Rocket is flooded with undesirable visitors who stir up town secrets and prejudices. The interwoven perspectives of Tom, Hap and Lauren Kent, town veterinarian and Tom's love interest, lend the gloomy narrative speed and immediacy in Sharfeddin's best work yet. (Mar.)
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Review

“Sharfeddin’s eye for detail…and her unsentimental compassion for her characters…will entrance readers.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review


From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 581 KB
• Print Length: 386 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0385341873
• Publisher: Delta; Original edition (May 19, 2009)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00296SVGS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #240,809 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

A Pacific Northwest Author -- Born in Forsyth, Montana, educated on life in Missoula, pining for the glassy, early morning sculling waters of Flathead.

Ten early years in Riggins, Idaho, down along the Salmon. The flavors of peaches, icy streams, forest fire smoke, and brook trout still on my tongue. Those quirky, off-beat characters wandering through my psyche most often hail from that arid canyon with its mesmerizing river.

On to Oregon's Willamette Valley. As sweet and tart as its blueberries in July--I will always be romanced by its produce. Birthplace of my son--my inspiration.

Home: West of the continental divide, north of the 45th parallel, south of the Canadian border. The Sevin Devlis, Imnaha, The Zumwalt, Hells Canyon, The River of No Return, The Cascades, The Pacific, Lake Missoula, The Columbia Gorge, Going To The Sun, Flathead, Wallowa, Joseph Canyon, The Rattlesnake, Pittsburg Landing, The Lochsa, Lookout, Mission Falls. I am a daughter of the west.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting small town suspense thriller, May 19, 2009

By 

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

This review is from: Windless Summer (Paperback)

The townsfolk of Rocket, Washington depend on summer when the windsurfers and tourists invade to make a living. However, the WINDLESS SUMMER has kept many of the visitors away and has driven off residents and shut down business. The Jemmet Motel overlooking the Columbia has been empty and the owner widower Tom Jemmet fears he may have to close.

Tom's soul is filled with ghosts that haunt him starting with his late wife and with the living especially his twelve year old autistic daughter Sienna. Others hide damaging secrets too such as Charlene the kind mail clerk who helps with Sienna and the vet Dr. Lauren who conceals her love for father and daughter. However each shares the same abysmal no hope for the future.

That changes starting with the man from Idaho staying in room six. In that room strange happenings begin. Some will call it fate visiting; other the supernatural; while some proclaim divine or devilish intervention. Whatever, the truth is it starts with the weird accident in room six that makes the local news only to be picked up nationally. Soon the town and its motel are flooded with people wanting to stay in room six arousing the darkest fears and secrets of the townsfolk starting with what happened to Tom's late wife.

This exciting small town suspense thriller effortlessly blends psychological and supernatural elements into a fast-paced character driven tale. The audience will appreciate the switching points of view especially that of Tom, Lauren, the reporter, and to a lesser degree that of Sienna and Charlene. The outside horde that invades the town is treated initially as welcome bags of money, but soon considered unwelcome detriments. Fans will enjoy this intriguing story wondering what happened to Tom's wife and why he behaves guiltily as if his punishment for what is mostly unknown (but guessed) is penance for life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'll always be rooting for Sienna ..., June 24, 2009

By 

djo (portland, ore.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Windless Summer (Paperback)

If you like stories that take you away while keeping it real, Windless Summer does it. Sharfeddin's novel is both anti-smarmy and anti-epic -- one of those rare tales that's taut and real and just plain satisfying. Sharfeddin does an incredible job of getting out of the way of her writing -- and here she did it by putting me in the middle of a small town along the Columbia River Gorge and bringing to life all kinds of people who simply want to live, love and survive life's most basic worries: a secure future and the unromantic depths of love. Sure, there's despair, ego, pride, darkness, and even a few weirdos, but that's exactly what enriches and sweetens the whole story. It might sound like a cliche, but I'll always be rooting for Sienna and her dad Tom (while watching for old motels with pools out back). It's all in Windless Summer; therefore, it's real.

5.0 out of 5 stars Description so Perfect You'll Forget You're Reading, December 2, 2011

By 

Gary S. Thompson "Scott" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Windless Summer (Paperback)

The descriptions of places and people are so natural in this book you'll forget you're reading and find yourself so involved with the settings and people that you can almost feel the touch of a character, the stillness of the air, and the jaw clenching anxiety of a father. Sharfeddin writes in a way that flows naturally through your mind and makes it easy to become engulfed in the story.

Read this author if you want to understand and explore humanity, and if you want to learn more about people and their motivations and decisions, both good and bad. The best writers are ones that sit quietly and study their world. They are writers that have taken the time to understand, or at least try to understand, what makes people tick. This is a writer that must have done just this as humanity is explored in fresh ways on every page.