Editor's Note:

I originally graded this novel as an "A" for a few perceived shortcomings. However, my estimation of this book has only risen with the passage of time. It has since stood out in my mind as one of the best reads that I have ever experienced. To my way of thinking, any book that leaves an indelible impression like that deserves to have the highest grade.

A side note is that this novel has been reissued in paperback under a different tile; that of "The Whaleboat House." As such, I will list it here under both titles.

Respectfully submitted for your reading enjoyment,

Carl Zapffe
--------------

"AMAGANSETT" by Mark Mills (A)

I have had the great pleasure of discovering several very fine authors recently, so much so that my reading this summer has become one happily filled with a luxury of literary riches. Of all of these authors, it would be safe to say that Mark Mills is one of the very best as evidenced by this 2004 novel which delves into the post-World War Two life of a former soldier and now a reclusive fisherman who lives at the eastern end of Long Island.

His life becomes even more difficult, and dangerous, when his fishing net drags in the body of a young heiress from one of the Hampton estates to the west. Though partly a murder mystery, much of this story is about personal recovery and redemption. Interwoven with the investigation surrounding the woman's death are tender love stories experienced by several men who have seen far too much of the evil in this world and have become damaged goods as a result.

Reading this book has been a true joy for me, one of those very special reads that I couldn't wait to get to each evening. I suffer inevitable feelings of yin-yang with books like this: the joyful yin of delving into a story and its characters with a sharp curiosity about what is going to happen next and where the story is going to go. But then there is always the yang of dread nipping at the back of my mind noting that the more that I read, the less there will be to read, and then all too soon it will be all over...

Mills has a natural and effortless writing style that is just exquisite in its simplicity and brevity. His dialogue is sharp, sparse, and to the point, while the contemplation of his characters is perfectly placed to enhance the drama. Furthermore, Mills has the rare talent to add flashbacks at just the right point in the story.

I was instantly captivated by his writing style and then even more captivated by the plot, which is introduced with considerable subtlety after the hammer of a forward that informs us that the body of a woman will be pulled from the surf by the net of two men who have spent their lives fishing. They knew right away by the dead weight in their net that it would be a body, but of what they were yet to discover.

Conrad Labarde and Rollo Kemp, a scion of one of the pioneering fishing families of Long Island, live in the blue collar section of Long Island at its very easterly end in the area near Gardiner's Bay. Amagansett, Napeague and other small towns dot the map. Members of the working classes who live there either head out to sea or head westward to tend to the needs of the rich swells inhabiting the Hampton estates.

It is in July, 1947, when Conrad and Rollo net their unusual quarry. Conrad had recently been a soldier who had spent years in the European theater fighting with distinction, so much so that he had received many awards for his personal valor. Now back home from the war, Conrad finds himself without family since his father had passed away in his absence and his beloved stepmother had moved out to California to live with her brother. In addition, his only brother had previously died in a freak boating accident before the war.

He works in an area with men who pride themselves on their ethnic heritage, usually Irish, Welsh, or from some other part of Britain. Labarde is a Basque from Spain, so he is viewed as an outsider and it is only through the sponsorship of Rollo Kemp's grandfather that he is grudgingly accepted as a member of the close knit fishing community. Conrad returns the favor by making Rollo a full partner of his fishing venture even though he is, as they say, a few oars short in his mental boat. Nonetheless, he is a gentle soul, a hard worker, and his fishing instincts are exceptional.

The body of the unidentified young woman brings Deputy Chief Tom Hollis of the East Hampton police department to the scene. Much like Labarde, Tom Hollis is another troubled soul who had left the New York City police force under somewhat curious circumstances. His former wife, Lydia, had hated the move, and their marriage foundered as a result. The resultant divorce had been a bitter and brutal process for him.

Hollis is a thorough investigator and a detective with instincts as finely honed in his craft as those of Rollo are in fishing. Even though the cause of death is proved to be by drowning, both Conrad and Hollis suspect that foul play might be involved, especially when she turns out to have been Lillian Wallace, the daughter of a famous merchant banker and the sister of a man being groomed for political office.

Though neither yet realize this, Hollis and Labarde are kindred spirits. Hollis is intrigued and challenged by this quiet man with eyes of cold gray steel coming from having killed many German soldiers in hand to hand combat. The stage has been set on a captivating murder mystery when suddenly and unexpectedly a plot twist yanks the literary hook. I was captured and even more enthralled by this twist and what was to come. 2004, G. Putnam's Sons, 398 pages.