The Mystery of Ireland's Eye by Shane Peacock was an outstanding read. I was completely captivated by the opening scene of Dylan and his parents kayaking in open waters. I loved the flashbacks of how Dylan won his parents over and convinced them to let him join them on their holiday. It really came through how much hard work pays. Shane Peacock’s descriptions of the landscapes was wonderful. I can imagine kayaking the waters between islands or running through the woods or peering into the abandoned buildings. The build up of Dylan’s questionable experiences on Ireland’s Eye made me turn every page with trepidation, waiting for the big reveal. I really enjoyed this dramatic tale of one young man’s summer adventure and was excited to learn there are other stories in this series.

This book did not go the way I thought it would. It seemed like a great adventure story about going to Ireland's Eye and figuring out the mystery surrounding it. Clearly, my thoughts were heavily influenced by the title. I did not expect the suspense that was created when the island is seen through Dylan's eyes.

I will admit, even as an adult, I was kept on the edge of my seat wondering how everything would end.

I'm not sure if I will read the other books in the series, but this was a good read.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Author: Shane Peacock
Publisher: Viking
Publication Date: 1999

A Bumpy Ride

The premise here is great and there are some terrific individual scenes, (kayaking with a minke whale), but the overall tone, plotting and pacing of the book was so inconsistent it was hard to become invested in the tale.

Our hero, Dylan, tells the story and first person narration serves the tale well. But, sometimes Dylan is engaging, perceptive and mature and sometimes he's childish, moody, and rather dense. There's no real pattern to the changes or reasons for them, except that whenever things are supposed to be "creepy" that's when Dylan freezes or gets scatter brained. That's also what happens with the other characters and with the narrative generally. The parents are smart and competent except when they are silly or vague and distracted. It may be that with no one else along for the ride we just spend too much time in Dylan's head manufacturing scares. (A juvenile bald eagle does not look like a terrifying pterodactyl, no matter how much Dylan thinks so; it looks like a big bird.)

The oddest part is that a lot of the tension is from characters observing or imagining, (or "dreaming"), things and then not telling each other. (Dylan becomes almost catatonic with fear when jellyfish under his boat seem to have the face of his deceased grandpa. He hides this "vision" from his parents.) These "secrets" then fester and end up being annoying and frustrating for the reader rather than spooky or unnerving. (Example - Dylan finds a smoldering cigarette butt in one abandoned building. To any normal person this means someone was in the building recently. Dylan decides that the cigarette might have been lit by a nearby magnifying glass, resolves to forget about it, and never mentions it to his parents downstairs. Really?)

If this had just been set out as a neat family adventure, with a perilous ocean paddle and an uninhabited island and a ghost town and maybe some creepy stuff around the edges it would have been a fine and gripping Boy's Own, Enid Blyton sort of tale. But so much extra baggage was loaded in and poorly mixed that it ended up, for me, being a not so satisfying trip.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)