Description
Fiction. Not long ago, Will Fordham was a charismatic young preacher on the rise. But a family trip to the beach cost him everything. Will was struck by an unexpected seizure while wading in the ocean, drowning his young son. In the aftermath of the child's death, Will lost his marriage, his sobriety, and his faith. Once the pastor of his own church, Will is now little more than a groundskeeper. When Will is offered a new assignment at a small church on one of Georgia's barrier islands, he reluctantly accepts the opportunity to put his life back together. Owned by a wealthy heiress and accessible only by ferry, this unspoiled island is home to an artists' colony and only a handful of permanent residents. But once on the island, Will befriends a young boy who tells him unsettling stories about the other islanders. Are they merely products of the boy's overactive imagination, or does something sinister lie beneath the island's peaceful facade?
"A twisty, spooky Southern tale of religion and loss, full of strange visions, dripping with Spanish moss, and haunted by characters who are either predators or victims or both." —Thomas Mullen, author of The Last Town on Earth and The Revisionists
"Frank Reddy conjures up a page-turning tale of a man of God in a godforsaken place, where old evil on a troubled island waits to challenge an already-challenged faith. Reddy is a revelation—this debut novel foreshadows a tidal wave of a career." —Charles McNair, Pulitzer Prize nominee and author of Land O'Goshen and Pickett's Charge
"Frank Reddy's debut blows readers off their feet…Readers familiar with H.P. Lovecraft could easily be convinced that EYES ON THE ISLAND was a cosmic horror story in disguise…Reddy's novel is deceptive and the air of uncertainty makes EYES ON THE ISLAND a gripping thriller." —Creative Loafing
"Captures the atmosphere of Savannah and the Georgia barrier islands, with their mysterious and otherworldly histories, in a way that anyone familiar with the area will recognize." —The Book Fetish Blog
"Reddy is able to weave together Fordham's childhood, first career, marriage, and fatherhood and also provide a complex—albeit mysterious—history of the island and the inhabitants with ease. This is a damn good novel." —Fig and Thistle
"[A] Spanish moss thriller, dark with biblical conflict…absolutely stupendous."—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Author Bio
A veteran journalist, Frank Reddy has written for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Curbed Atlanta, Creative Loafing, Atlanta Magazine, Gainesville Times, and Gwinnett Daily Post. He has won multiple awards from The Associated Press and Georgia Press Association for feature writing, business writing, and hard news coverage. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife, Joy, and daughter, Stella. EYES ON THE ISLAND is his first novel.
Author City: Atlanta, GA USA