Shenanigan Free Press

Author John D. MacDonald gave us fabulous pieces of literature The Executioners better known today as Cape Fear , and many others along with over twenty Travis McGee novels. Perhaps, John D. is the greatest modern day novelist. Many of today’s best-selling authors boast of his influence on their career. Dean Koontz has often referred to him with remarkable admiration and praise. Demonstrating this is the interesting tribute he wrote about the author in the foreword of the paperback edition of Condominium . Grant it, Koontz did not say much specifically about the novel he was seemingly endorsing, but who would think differently? Probably no one would question his true feelings until he did the introduction on the audio version of the same book where we learn Dean Koontz did not like it quite as much as most of us concluded. The audio version features Dean Koontz saying as much in his own words.

Gorgeous color with full-bodied taste and texture, this combination relies on the slow roasting process to combine flavors that taste so rich it will leave you wondering if it is really healthy.

The Shore explicitly exposes a third-world culture so ignored by modern society it will surprise most that it exists in the United States. The author provides raw insight into an impaired society that resides on the gorgeous islands of the Chesapeake Bay. Murder, rape, domestic abuse, poverty, addiction, and birth defects haunt the inhabitants of the marsh and despite the hellacious fear, the indoctrination is so deep that most never leave and those that do, inevitably return.

Granted, Mazie Phillips is not an ordinary saint; she drinks too much, swears, and has numerous careless sexual relations, but her imperfections allow her to set aside judgement and simply help those who need it most. Believe it or not, Mazie Phillips is only a slightly fictionalized character based upon the real-life, Mazie Phillips. In this, why didn’t I think of that novel, Jami Attenberg does a beautiful job of researching and arriving at a conjecture that ultimately translates into a realism that is so believable it seems like she peered into Mazie’s mind so we could enjoy a glimpse.