Marrow Island - Alexis M. Smith

nEerie and intriguing . . .

captivates in the first few pages and delivers a gripping, compelling story throughout.--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel n Smith's excellent command of language gives life to arresting characters and their creepy surroundings, keeping the suspense in this dark environmental thriller running high.--Elle n n It has been twenty years since Lucie Bowen left the islands--when the May Day Quake shattered thousands of lives; when Lucie's father disappeared in an explosion at the Marrow Island oil refinery, a tragedy that destroyed the island's ecosystem; and when Lucie and her best friend, Katie, were just Puget Sound children hoping to survive. n Now, Katie writes with strange and miraculous news. Marrow Island is no longer uninhabitable and no longer abandoned.

She is part of a community that has managed to conjure life again from Marrow's soil. Lucie returns. Her journalist instincts tell her there's more to this mysterious Colony and their charismatic leader--a former nun with an all-consuming plan--than its members want her to know.

As she uncovers their secrets, will Lucie endanger more than their mission? And what price will she pay for the truth? n nTransporting.--Vanity Fair n n Beautifully wrought.--O, The Oprah Magazine n nEngrossing and atmospheric, a thorny meditation on environmental responsibility with a big haunted heart.--Laura van den Berg, Miami Herald nn