This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it. thanks for letting me have an advance copy. I'm new to this author.

The book opens on Alcatraz, with the warden's child missing. A prisoner, who works as the gardener, knows something, but what? We are then whisked off to Ireland several decades earlier where we meet Shanley Keagan, a young boy. This is his story. On the way to America, Shan's uncle dies and he is taken in by an Italian family after meeting their son, Nick Capello. He lives with the Capello's for many years, but a situation has him leaving them and falling back on his skills of impersonations, jokes and entertaining. I do not want to say anything else about the plot, but let me tell you, Shan does not get a fair shake in life.

I very quickly connected to Shan. He wormed his way into my heart and had my emotions all over the place. It wasn't easy to be an immigrant, especially one from Ireland back in the twenties. Kristina McMorris does an amazing job of weaving the two storylines together to give us an amazing picture of Shan, and what his life was like. He spent his whole life in America trying to repay the Capello family for what they did for him, and he would do whatever he had to for them. This is an emotional story, one where I fell in love with the big hearted character. I wanted to smack Nick more than once for things he did and decisions he made that affected the whole family, especially Shan. This was an excellent story and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good historical fiction story.

My interest was caught from the first page. Telling the story of a con man from Ireland who ends up in Alcatraz and his friendship with the daughter of a prison guard who lives at Alcatraz seems so real. The characters, the setting the prison life seems spot-on to me.

I have loved Kristina McMorris' writing for quite some time, and was thrilled to see this title in her up and coming list. I love that it explores parts of American history not often written about, and there was a lot of history that was completely new to me. Her writing is compelling, and I couldn't wait to get to the end of the story. As in previous works, her characterization is one of the strongest parts of this book.

Not my favorite by this author, yet a really consuming tale of a young girl who goes missing at Alcatraz during the 1930's. As a prison guard, her father lived on the island with his family.

This family's tale is skillfully woven together with that of one from a couple of decades earlier. I liked the way the two storylines finally merged together.

This one had two really good storylines, some great characters, and a very interesting setting.
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