The Fisher Boy | 
| Author: Stephen Anable
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 201792
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 348
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.3
ISBN: 1590584805
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781590584804
ASIN: 1590584805
Publication Date: May 10, 2008
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Condition: Perfect -- and I'll send it immediately! Read my 100% feedback!
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Product Description
Spiraling from the tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown has long been a place of freedom, escape, diversity, and risk. A gay resort, an art colony, and a working fishing port, it is at once gritty and hedonistic, beautiful and complex.
Boston comic Mark Winslow arrives with his troupe of improv actors ready to break into the Provincetown club circuit. But the town and the regionseared by drought and caught in the culture warare anything but peaceful this summer. Does the tall ship in the harbor bear an unusually large number of Scandinavian tourists? If not, who are the blond and ragged people insisting they are associated with it?
Then a public fight makes Mark the prime suspect in the grisly butchering of a Boston blueblood. Mark believes his choice is simple: find the killer or be charged with the crime.
Amid the clam shacks and craft shops, art galleries and nude beaches, undercurrents are pulling at the surface of normality, like riptides beneath seemingly calm water. Could the disappearance of a famous painter 80 years in the pastand the story of his masterpiece, The Fisher Boysomehow lie at the center of the whirlpool of evil threatening to extinguish Marks life? The Fisher Boy is Stephen Anables debut novel.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Provincetown debut June 23, 2008
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
Summering in P-town in hopes of jump starting a new career in improv, Mark Winslow instead finds himself looking into the wave of crime that strikes the community. Is it gay bashing? Fundamentalist fanatics? Eco-warriors? Or are the crimes unrelated? Well, they are certainly connected in that they all involve Mark's friends, and the deeper his investigation goes, the more complex and tangled the web becomes.
The Fisher Boy is an ambitious murder mystery, with enough plot elements to support 2 additional novels. Well written, infused with satisfying imagery, populated by substantive characters, the story speeds along, drawing the reader into its various puzzles and crises. The gay culture so long ensconced in P-town is portrayed believably, and the clash of cultures and belief systems is also well handled. It does makes for an enjoyable reading experience, but leaves little room for any substantive development. For example, the book's central image, the painting of the fisher boy, promises an intellectual element that fails to materialize. In like manner, the motivations of some of the miscreants are facile, but on the whole, implausible. Nevertheless, author Anable has produced a respectable and literate first novel, a welcome addition to the genre.
Mr. Anable Reels In The Reader With The Fisher Boy June 20, 2008
The violent death in the gay community on Cape Cod that is at the heart of this mystery story may result from soured relationships in that community--or it may relate to the extremist cult in the area, or the anti-gay religious group that is demonstrating in town, or the prep school grudges that still have life, or the scandals and greed of the deceased's blueblood family. Mr. Anable's debut novel kept me wondering until the very end. And along the way it delighted me with the salty taste and imagery of Cape Cod. I look forward to reading Mr. Anable's second novel--and I hope that I do not have to wait too long for it!
STELLAR READING OF AN OUTSTANDING DEBUT June 13, 2008
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
For a writer who has spent much of his professional life writing business related articles Boston born Stephen Anable certainly knows how to spin a suspenseful tale as is illustrated in his debut novel, The Fisher Boy.
Province town, near Cape Cod is the setting Anable chose, as it is a place he knows well having spent many summers there. Thus, his story is filled with authentic sights, sounds and, yes, even aromas, that typify that area. He also wisely created characters familiar to him as he once was an actor, and a stand-up comic.
We may wonder just how much of the author we find in protagonist Mark Winslow who has brought an acting troupe to Province town, wanting to become a part of he summer club scene. Nonetheless, you know what is said about best laid plans. A prelude of dark days to come is the body of a dead dog left on a doorstep.
It's not long before Ian Drummond's body is found with his throat slashed. Ian is an old school friend of Mark's and they recently had a disagreement that escalated into a fight. Our wannabe entertainer suddenly finds himself the prime suspect in a murder case. Only alternative seems to be for Mark to find the actual murderer.
There is quite a trail for him to follow as it involves some of the bluest bloods in Boston, a weird homophobic sect, and a famous painting. Trying to tie all of this together is enough of a chore for Mark without the unique clique of characters who may or may not have some bearing on the killing.
Anable has crafted a compelling picture of a summer resort rife with skullduggery and secrets. Audiophile Earphones Award winning actor Paul Michael Garcia brings all of this to life with his skillful narration. His classical training in theatre stands him in good stead as he adroitly voices a disparate cast of characters. An acclaimed performer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, his voice is resonant, distinct, as he shapes and enunciates his narrative with appropriate shades of meaning.
- Gail Cooke
Murder at the Cape June 13, 2008
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (6/08)
Things start getting strange in Provincetown when a former fellow prep-schoolmate, sometimes nemesis, of Mark Winslow is murdered. To further complicate matters, they had a public disagreement prior to his death. Mark is the last person seen with Ian on the day of his murder. He also accidentally stumbled on Ian's body shortly after his murder. Panicking that he will be accused of the crime, Mark runs away and keeps his knowledge of Ian's death a secret.
Under the surface there are other unusual incidents happening at the Cape. The town seems to be inundated with filthy young adults who appear to be affiliated with a mysterious local cult. These characters panhandle and shoplift. They tell everyone that they are from Scandinavia, yet they have no accents. When a little girl who is very special to Mark is kidnapped, he believes that the cult is involved and makes every effort to infiltrate it and gather information about both the kidnapping and the murder. The cult is aware of Mark's attempts; they do what they can to thwart him. Meanwhile, Mark is also dealing with trying to develop a relationship with his love interest Roberto. Roberto does not make it very easy for him. Mark also discovers answers about who his father is, and this knowledge has a direct bearing on everything that is going on around him.
Much of the novel revolves around Mark trying to find answers about a famous local artist who disappeared over eighty-years ago. He ran a commune on land that this new cult is occupying. When a famous painting, called The Fisher Boy, is slashed by one of the cult people, at the museum, Mark suspects that there is a connection between the two groups. He also works hard on discovering answers about his paternity.
I found "The Fisher Boy" to be fascinating. Stephen Anable has a creative touch that makes this novel stand out well above others. His development of the characters brings them alive on the pages and makes them seem very realistic. He also does a great job with describing the cult and their activities. What they have going on is very unusual and makes for a great read. This is a wonderful novel that is sure to keep you guessing.
witty social commentary May 11, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Mark Winslow and his improv actors group leave Boston to perform in Provincetown. His summer stay starts upbeat over the Memorial Weekend when he attends a party thrown by his friend Arthur Hilliard; Mark anticipates meeting club owners as everyone who is anyone wants to be seen at this scene.
However, everything turns bloody ugly starting with the dead dog on the outside stoop; or perhaps as Mark suggests before that canine incident the Swedish tall ship the Vasa in the harbor was the harbinger of death. When Mark has an argument with Ian Drummond at a restaurant, he thinks nothing of it until later when he finds the brutalized corpse of Ian. Knowing he is the prime suspect in the killing of a Boston Brahmin, Mark investigates while noticing an influx of Scandinavian tourists but clues hint at the Christian Soldiers in town for the exhibition of the early twentieth century work of artist Thomas Royall.
More a witty social commentary on life in Provincetown, THE FISHER BOY is an entertaining amateur sleuth tale although the detecting takes a back seat to Mark's observations on life in the Cape during that fatal summer. The story line is character driven by Mark who seeks motive through his observations on the various diverse groups battling for supremacy of the Cape Cod town. Readers will appreciate this fine whodunit that is more a deep look at the discordance of diversity.
Harriet Klausner
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