In this one, Shores – scarred for life from an unfortunate trauma involving water in her childhood – yet again finds herself at sea investigating a possible crime. Once again, the mystery builds nicely and the action is well paced, but once again – as was the case in KiDNApped – the tale ends abruptly following the final battle sequence. But partial stars aren’t allowed in most rating systems, and this and the book’s one other flaw were not enough to ding it the .56 of a star that would round to a 4 star review. Maybe take a tenth of a point off for each, but that still leaves at a 4.8 which obviously rounds to 5.
The other flaw? The mocking of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and the seasteading initiatives being worked by at least a few people. It was unnecessary in showing how unhinged the primary antagonist had become.
This review of Solar Island by Rick Chesler was originally published on February 4, 2018.