First, I absolutely love that this book is based on Sharon Short’s own family history. I feel like that really brought a sense of realism to the entire story.

Unfortunately, the Prohibition Era story wasn’t working for me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I struggled through much of the middle of this book. I don’t think this is necessarily reflective of the book and was more a personal issue!

Thank you to the publisher for my DRC in exchange for an honest review!

Let me just say: this book has everything I want in a mystery—atmosphere, secrets, murder, and an isolated setting that ramps up the tension in all the best ways.

Set on a remote, icy island in the middle of Lake Erie, Trouble Island is a gangster-era locked room mystery with a twisty, feminist edge.Aurelia and Rosita are living in this eerie old mansion, waiting for Rosita’s gangster husband and his entourage to arrive.

But the real heart of the story is Aurelia. She’s not just some background character or sidekick—she’s carrying a whole secret life. She’s posing as a maid, but she’s actually a gangster’s wife hiding from her past (and from the murder she committed, no big deal). She wants out. And just when she thinks she might make a break for it, Rosita ends up dead, the island is suddenly cut off by an ice storm, and now everyone’s a suspect—including Aurelia.

I was hooked by the slow burn of the suspense and the layers of tension between the characters. It’s one of those stories where everyone has something to hide, and you don’t know who to trust. There’s this undercurrent of unease running through the whole book, and the setting is so vivid you can practically hear the ice cracking and feel the wind whipping off the lake.

If you’re into historical suspense that’s moody and character-driven, but also delivers on the murder-y payoffs, Trouble Island hits the mark. It’s sharp, atmospheric, and just the right amount of unsettling.

A gripping historical mystery with intriguing twists. The writing is atmospheric and evocative bringing the setting of the island to life. I appreciated the author’s note and the fact that this novel was based on true events from her family history.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Trouble Island by Sharon Short!

Trouble island, a place of danger and death. Gangsters and cheating. Lies! Eddie wants to sell the island due to his many depths by bribing his estranged wife into accepting divorce to replace the island. Everyone has a secret and is willing to kill to protect the truth.

Trouble Island is a compelling historical mystery that is full of suspense and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

1932, Trouble Island: in the middle of Lake Erie is a remote, stop-off for gangster criminals running from America and Canada, an island owned by the McGee crime family, and where this wretched place is found. Exiled to the island for an unknown reason, Aurelia, a maid and former gangster’s wife, awaits the arrival of Eddie McGee and his criminal entourage alongside Rosita (wife of Eddie McGee). With the intention of the McGee family selling the island to another rival family, Aurelia clandestinely plans her escape with the aid of a box full of treasures that will support her after she leaves this hotbed of crime. As soon as her plan is in motion, the body of Rosita is found floating in the water, setting off a chain of events that force Aurelia to uncover the mystery of the past, secret identities, all while avoiding her own death.

This exciting locked door mystery was full of suspense and is riddled with many plot twists. Likened to a game of Clue, the author had me frantically guessing at the culprit all while pulling me into her multi-layered mystery.

If you like mystery books set in the 1930s or gangster books, you will enjoy this book.

*Don’t skip over the author’s note*

Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC. This review is voluntary, and all thoughts are my own.

Trouble Island by Sharon Short was both suspenseful and very engaging. It was the first book that I have read by Sharon Short and her first standalone novel. Sharon Short based Trouble Island on a place that actually existed and on events that occurred in her own family. Trouble Island was a well written historical fiction mystery. The setting was an old and secluded family owned mansion located in Lake Erie. The mansion was both well hidden and hard to detect unless its existence was already known to those in its vicinity. It took place in the early 1930’s when prohibition was strictly enforced which made bootlegging lucrative and popular. I listened to the audiobook that was well narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya and I alternately read some parts on my kindle.

Aurelia Escalante had met Rosita and Eddie McGee through her gangster husband who worked for Eddie McGee in his organization. Rosita and Aurelia forged a relationship almost immediately after meeting. It was no wonder that Aurelia sought out Rosita’s help when she found herself in a very serious situation. Rosita convinced her husband, Eddie, to help her help Aurelia disappear and escape scrutiny from the law. Aurelia was transported to Trouble Island and became Rosita’s maid and confident. Their relationship changed drastically after the tragic death of her young son. After Rosita’s young and innocent son was killed in the crossfire that was meant for Eddie, Rosita was never the same person she once was. Her son’s death crippled her. Rosita hardly ever left her room after his death and she started to keep her face concealed by a veil.

Aurelia had been on Trouble Island for close to a year at this point. She started to contemplate her escape. After all, Trouble Island was not far from Ohio. How hard could it be to reach the shore of Ohio from Trouble Island? Aurelia had saved some money but the discovery of a treasure box early one morning while she returned from her usual early morning swim definitely bolstered her confidence that she could indeed escape. She found a place to hide her treasure until she was ready to retrieve it and leave the island for good. Before Aurelia was able to put her plan into action, a few unexpected things occurred. First of all, Eddie unexpectedly arrived at Trouble Island with an entourage of dangerous men. Eddie had come back to Trouble Island to convince Rosita to sell the island and their mansion to the man that had been responsible for her son’s death. Eddie had acquired insurmountable debts and this was his solution to fixing his problems. Of course, Rosita was adamant about not selling the house that had been in her family for generations and especially to the murderer of her son. Then Rosita disappeared. Despite Rosita’s disappearance, Aurelia was still determined to escape from Trouble Island. As she was putting her plan into motion, she discovered Rosita’s dead body in Lake Erie. Someone had strategically placed Rosita’s body where Aurelia would surely find her and make Aurelia look as if she had caused her death. As Aurelia tried to prove her innocence, more dead bodies were found. Can Aurelia figure out who was responsible for all the deaths? Would she be forced to reveal her secrets? Will Aurelia be able to escape from Trouble Island?

Trouble Island by Sharon Short was an intense locked-in mystery with just enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. The ending was satisfying and I was a bit surprised by it. I enjoyed reading the author’s note at the conclusion and learning that the story was based on things that occurred in her own family. Trouble Island included many secrets, some romance, a cast of colorful characters, a setting that fit with the events of the story and several twists and turns. I enjoyed both listening and reading Trouble Island by Sharon Short and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Minotaur Books for allowing me to listen and read Trouble Island by Sharon Short through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an interesting plot this turned out to have. Everyone is a little suspicious of something, but you can't quite place why. Auriella is a maid for Rosita and Eddie. She's hiding on Trouble Island for something. Eddie has been gone and arrives back in the island with a boat full of people. Rosita has so many secrets, one about the death of her son, why she and Eddie seem to go back andnfoeth over who has more power in the relationship and why exactly she and Auriella used to be friends and now why the tables have turned. Someone will end up dead and that's kind of expected when you have an island full of nothing but crooks.
The book is a thriller set during prohibition on an island in the middle of Lake Erie in very cold temperatures and the characters are very, very complicated and devious. I don't trust anyone.

Fun location isolation mystery set in the 1930’s prohibition era. Lots of entertaining twists and turns and an unpredictable ending.

While entertaining, it wasn’t quite believable and had a few plot holes but still a fun read. Cleverly thought out and delivered.

The woman known as Aurelia Escalante came to Trouble Island – in the middle of Lake Erie and on one of the busiest smuggling routes between Canada and the United States of America during these boom days of Prohibition – looking for a refuge. Scared and in hiding, Aurelia found herself healing while on the remote island, at least at first:

QUOTE
After a summer season of swimming and hiking and breathing in the deep, loamy scents of the island’s woods, I came to long for what Rosita had promised before sending me here: that my island stay would only be a stopover before a new life, a new identity.

But by then, I realized Rosita had no intention of helping me leave. I was to stay on Trouble island, serving her, being her island confidante, indefinitely. I began to plan my own escape: slowly pilfer from guests a watch here, money there, a few pieces of jewelry. I had Henry show me how to use the boats, planning to eventually steal one of them and dash to the north coast of Ohio.

But then, Oliver died, and everything changed…
END QUOTE

Aurelia is understandably bewildered by her demotion from being glamorous, wealthy Rosita McGee’s friend to becoming merely her servant. She attributes it to how hard Rosita has taken Oliver’s death, refusing even to speak of it with her. All Aurelia knows is that Oliver died on the mainland and Rosita has been in seclusion on Trouble Island ever since, demanding that Aurelia and the other full-time staff there cater to her every whim.

Fortunately, this isn’t very taxing work. Being no stranger to honest labor herself, Aurelia quickly builds up a camaraderie with the other employees, even before she realizes that the rest of them are just as trapped there as she is. They all seem to live in a strange limbo, beholden to Rosita and to her gangster husband Eddie to keep them safe on the island, away from the rest of the world’s prying eyes.

When Eddie makes an unannounced winter visit with guests in tow, all the staff are thrown into a tizzy. They’d been getting ready to shut the island down to its bare necessities in order to survive being iced in over the upcoming months. Eddie, however, is adamant on breaking into the stores to lavishly host the newcomers, who include Rosita’s brittle cousin Claire, a dashing Hollywood actor and two rival mobsters. But Eddie isn’t there just to throw a party: he wants Rosita to finally snap out of her grief, and either come back to the mainland with him or sign over Trouble Island.

Rosita has no interest in doing any of this despite Eddie’s overbearing mix of threats and cajoling. Unfortunately for her, all of the guests seem intent on getting her to change her mind. So when Aurelia stumbles across Rosita’s corpse lashed to one of the Trouble Island piers, there’s no shortage of suspects who might have wanted to do her in. Eddie is at the top of the list but everyone else seems to have a motive, too. Complicating things for Aurelia is the fact that she herself appears to be the most likely suspect.

As she seeks to elude Eddie’s rough justice, Aurelia will have to figure out who on the island she can trust as she tries to identify and expose Rosita’s killer. Perhaps just as importantly, will she be able to escape Trouble Island herself once she’s proven that she had nothing to do with the other woman’s murder?

This historical mystery is based on real events from the author’s family past, lending as much verisimilitude to the narrative as passages such as this one, where Aurelia delves deeper into the lives of the married couple who serve as Trouble Island’s cook and housekeeper:

QUOTE
Maxine’s ancestors and Henry’s too would have been slaves. Maxine was saying that her grandmother came north to escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

Maxine pointed at the design inside the square. “This is a bear paw. It meant follow the bear tracks north toward Canada. Stay away from the main road.”

“There was… a code?” I asked with wonderment. “In the quilt that she saw?”

Maxine nodded. “In many quilts. A symbol for log cottage meant you could find safe, hidden shelter. Flying geese meant follow the northerly direction of the geese in spring.”

I traced my fingers along the fine stitching. “What a treasure,” I said, honored that they’d chosen it to warm me earlier that day.
END QUOTE

I was particularly taken with these convincing historical fillips, and enjoyed, too, reading of Aurelia’s appreciation for the wildlife of Trouble Island, native or otherwise. The ending was particularly enthralling, as Aurelia’s grit and ingenuity help her go toe-to-toe with any number of opponents who would just as soon see her dead. A paean to grief and survival, this isolated manor house mystery will be a surefire hit with anyone who enjoys a meaty Prohibition-era crime novel featuring a resilient heroine up against overwhelming odds.

An island off the coast in Lake Erie, now isolated from winter storms, is the suspenseful, atmospheric setting for a 1930’s era historical thriller with enough twists and turns to keep me tensely gripping my reader and needing the next chapter. Sharon Short has penned several books now under various author aliases, but this was my first experience with her books- and won’t be my last.

Trouble Island is an apt name for the book because it is easy to tell from the get-go that there is all sorts of Trouble brewing and getting ready to boil over. Aurelia, a new maid, comes to the island and through her eyes, the situation and characters are introduced and the story is told. Aurelia is something along the lines of an unreliable narrator because it’s obvious she has big secrets of her own that drove her to the island and will culminate in a big reveal at the end.

Aurelia is the one to find Rosita’s body and it’s placed right where she’ll be the one to find it as a warning. I was on the edge of my seat with the acute danger ratcheting up.

Sharon Short did a great job of setting this 1930s Prohibition and Gangster Era historical backdrop with a murder mystery. The isolated situation and knowing there are a bunch of criminals and motives that begin with Rosita’s estranged husband, Eddie and his fellow gangsters who want Rosita’s house and the island because of its placement between Canada and the US for bootlegging. In truth, the majority of the characters stuck on the island are not likeable, but they sure are interesting.

All in all, Trouble Island delivered and left me stunned at that surprise finish, but also fascinated after reading the author’s note that this was based on a real-life event. I’ll definitely be looking up the author’s more typical mystery series and hope she writes more in line with the tone of this one. Those who like historical thrillers are the target audience.

Growing up in the Great Lakes region, I was excited for this story. I also love closed room mysteries. But it was hard for me to relate to story and characters fell flat. Just okay story. Many thanks to #netgalley #stmartinspress for,the opportunity to read and review this story.

This one was definitely interesting. It’s historical fiction based on a story in the author’s family and those she had heard from others and is set in the 1930s on a fictional island in Lake Erie. The entire book sounds cold! A snowstorm, more snow, and then the lake freezes so that an ice boat is needed to get across.

The characters are many, and I had trouble keeping up with them at first. I thought the pace was also slow, but then it definitely picked up. It involves the family and friends of a mobster (Eddie) and bootlegger during Prohibition, and some of these people were not nice! The main character, Aurelia, is the maid to Rosita, who is Eddie’s wife. Aurelia has had a difficult life so far, and her association with the family has led to misery. She dreams of escape. The suspense ratchets up and poor Aurelia is forced to think on her feet, as Eddie and Rosita change their strategy and plans constantly.

This was an extremely complex plot and kudos to the writer for pulling it off. Most threads were tied up, but a few were left to the reader’s imagination.

Four stars!

While a "historical" it felt more modern with the writing and speech patterns. Which isn't a bad thing per say, just that it kept from really getting "into" the novel itself.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC!

I was very excited to receive this ARC as the storyline sounded unique and I loved the setting as someone who grew up near Lake Erie. Unfortunately, the story fell flat for me. I think that the idea of the story was excellent and some portions were really eerie and well done, however it just wasn't executed that well overall. The story was dragged out for too long and it lacked the edge of anticipation that I think the story could've used, especially with the isolated setting and cast of characters that the story held. Definitely disappointed.

TROUBLE ISLAND by Sharon Short is an exciting thriller story set in the early 1930s. There is danger everywhere on a secluded island and premonitions and hints of dark events - past and future – move the story along. Two women reside there: Rosita McGee, wife of a prohibition gangster named Eddie, and Aurelia Escalante, who is marooned there as a maid but was once Rosita's friend. Their life is disturbed by the arrival of Eddie and several others, including a rival gang member who wants to buy the island. Rosita refuses to sell and Aurelia only wants to escape, but instead discovers a body and is trapped by weather as menace lurks. I was attracted by the beautiful cover, the location (an island in Lake Erie), and positive reviews like the one from Kirkus: " ... more twists and turns than a Chutes and Ladders board .... A spunky heroine plus a beautiful, unusual setting make this a must-read."

A fitting tribute to the locked room mystery genre. There were plenty of twists, but each one was believable and moved the plot forward.

As a native of western New York and a child of the Great Lakes, I love reading books that are set in the area. Trouble Island was especially fun because it blended my regional interest with a cracking good historical mystery. This one is all about gangsters of the early 20th century and how they used remote locations like Trouble Island to shield and fuel their illicit activities. This story is also about the friendship between two women deeply embedded in the world of crime. The author's exploration of what brought them to Trouble island and, for one, how she was getting out of it made for a fascinating, quick read. The writing is evocative and the plotting tightly wound and suspenseful. Recommended.

Sharon Short's "Trouble Island" is a gripping historical suspense novel set during the Prohibition era on a remote Lake Erie island. Drawing inspiration from her own family history, Short crafts a complex and atmospheric "closed circle" mystery that will captivate readers from the first page.
The novel follows a young woman who has murdered her husband and seeks refuge on an isolated island, becoming a maid and confidante to Rosita, the wife of a powerful crime family leader. Set against the backdrop of a harsh winter that makes escape impossible, the story is a tense exploration of secrets, betrayal, and survival.
Short's prose is rich with historical detail, bringing the 1930s setting to vivid life. The island itself becomes almost a character, with its isolation and menacing atmosphere adding layers of tension to the narrative. The plot is intricate, requiring careful attention as allegiances shift and characters' true motivations are gradually revealed.
The novel excels in its character development, presenting a cast of morally complex individuals caught in a web of violence and retribution. Themes of grief, vengeance, and survival are masterfully woven throughout the story. Short's background in mystery writing shines through in the carefully constructed plot, which keeps readers guessing until the end.
While the narrative can be challenging to follow at times, the book rewards patient readers with its rich historical context and compelling character studies. Fans of Prohibition-era mysteries and those who enjoy intricate, character-driven suspense will find much to appreciate in "Trouble Island."
Short's ability to create an immersive, tension-filled environment makes this novel a standout in historical suspense. The book's connection to the author's own family history adds an extra layer of authenticity and intrigue to the storytelling.

Trouble Island is a locked room mystery set in the 1930s following characters intwined in a gangster's life. I enjoyed the setting, but overall I felt disconnected from almost all of the characters and was left feeling underwhelmed.

I received an ALC and ARC from Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.