Pike Island by Tony Wirt

Published by Thomas & Mercer on November 1, 2024

Pike Island follows a familiar structure that leads to a surprising conclusion. Two storylines, one set in the past and the other in the present, progress until they converge. As events unfold, the reader suspects that a political career in the present might be derailed by the politician’s actions in the past.

The story in the past involves four high school buddies who spend a week at a cabin on Cedar Lake in Minnesota. Jake’s grandfather owns the cabin. Andy had a talent for schmoozing adults and getting what he wanted. Of course, Andy will grow up to be a politician. Ryan and Seth are mostly along for the ride.

The kids goad each other into investigating an abandoned house on Pike Island in an isolated part of the lake. They are scolded by a DNR agent, but that’s the least of their worries. The house contains something of value and one of the kids will lure the others into trouble by allowing greed to overcome his moral sense (assuming he has one).

Andy’s full name is Harrison Andrew Harrison Leonard. As an adult, he goes by Harry. He’s serving his first term in Congress and hopes to get a career boost from a viral video in which he denounces the Supreme Court. His chief of staff, Krista Walsh, is more idealistic than Harry. She wants to get things done, while Harry just wants to climb the ladder of power.

Krista is the central protagonist in the storyline that is set in the present. She’s trying to manage Harry’s career in ways that will maximize his ability to help the less fortunate. Harry is more than willing to pay the political game, setting aside idealist goals in exchange for the possibility of running as vice president. Krista would prefer that he set Washington aside, run for governor, and seek the presidency as an outsider who might get something done.

Krista notices that Harry seems upset when he receives mysterious and vaguely threatening postcards from Cedar Lake. Krista decides to dig into his past so can try to protect him from political fallout if disclosures of sinister behavior might be on the horizon. She sets out to interview the men who went to Cedar Lake with Andy/Harry — or at least those who are still alive — and turns up facts suggesting that Harry might not be the affable progressive that she has always imagined him to be.

Tony Wirt builds an engaging mystery for Krista to unravel. Something bad happened on Pike Island, but what role did Harry play in those events? Who is sending the notes that threaten to expose Harry? (A reader might wonder why the note-sender doesn’t simply reveal what he knows to the press or police, but if he did that, there wouldn’t be story.) Misdirection keeps the reader guessing about the identity of the note sender but, more importantly, about the events that gave rise to the note.

Wirt creates a convincing atmosphere (more so in Minnesota than in D.C.). His prose is crisp. Characters have all the personality they need, which isn’t much. Readers who like to invest in characters and value those who are likable may be disappointed with the way a protagnist behaves at the story's end.

This isn’t an action novel, but the story moves quickly. Wirt builds suspense as the characters move toward a final confrontation. I credit him for crafting a surprise ending that is actually surprising. I’m not sure I buy it — it requires a key character to act completely out of character — but it’s rare that I mutter “wow, I didn’t see that coming” at the end of a novel.

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