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	C.E. Japhe C.E. Japhe is an horror/mystery writer and avid reader, currently living in the panhandle of West Virginia. In addition to formerly serving as an editorial reviewer for FMAM, she is a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA).

THE ISLAND OFF STONY POINT
Regis Schilken
Bridgeway Books, Jan 2006,
$14.95, 220 pp.,
ISBN: 1-933538-13-9

Three monks and a tabernacle are taken hostage from a Pennsylvania monastery after an assault that leaves two monks dead and one injured, in hopes of extorting millions from the Catholic Church. The eldest of the hostages, Father Martin, and one of his captors begin to bond through the grueling ordeal. Is the "good" kidnapper ultimately redeemable? Such is the moral question posed in THE ISLAND OFF STONY POINT.

The story starts out, interestingly, from the kidnappers' perspective. We get a glimpse, albeit not nearly enough, of the kidnappers' personalities and personal lives. Unfortunately, the author doesn't quite take it far enough for us to feel empathy for the "good" bad guy, or for us to really hate the "bad" bad guys. The story then alternates between the movements of the kidnappers and those of the police investigator and her FBI partner who, of course, develop a mutual attraction.

The premise is intriguing and has potential. The plight of an elderly hostage, who feels he has little to lose, and happens to be a monk, and a young, impressionable captor who seems to be ultimately good (or, at least, not-so-bad), gives the reader food for thought. The author's ambitious attempts at existentialism, however, via a series of exchanges between the "good" kidnapper and the old monk on the existence of the soul, fall flat.

Logic definitely has to be suspended for most of the plot turns and for the improbable finale. The dialogue is often stilted and confused; the author tends to forget which character is supposed to be speaking. The author also makes frequent and annoying use of wow, uh, uh-h, and uh-h-h (always italicized).

The characters are somewhat 2-dimensional. It would have been nice for Schilken to have delved a little deeper into their characters, shown us a little more about their backgrounds and what makes them tick. As it is, their motivations are often weak and unconvincing; I didn't "feel" for any of the characters, good or bad.

With some more maturity of writing, Schilken could be the thinking-man's mystery writer. I look forward to reading future works from Mr. Schilken

C.E. Japhe

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