Dennie Doran creates a book about Nantucket wrapped up in a comedic mystery story in “ACK Attack” (ISBN 1463696078). This book focuses on the unique character of Nantucket by including a sense of its contemporary community as well as anecdotes about the local lore, history and legends of the island.
Maggie Marshall, a sixtyish middle school teacher living on Nantucket, inadvertently stumbles on an international terrorist plot. Finding suspicious debris in the compost she uses for her summer flower business, Maggie, aided by her two sisters and her rather quirky 90-year-old aunt, connects the compost’s clues to a biochemical attack planned for a meeting of international dignitaries being held in secret on Nantucket.
“Ack Attack” is written to appeal to those who have lived on Nantucket as well as those who have visited or summered there. Incorporating a great deal of information about the island, “ACK Attack” presents the reader with a slide show of historical yarns as well as a feeling for the contemporary ethos of the community. Inspired by Janet Evanovich’s novels in her Stephanie Plum series, this light-spirited beach read also features a romantic interest and sardonic insights into an unconventional family’s zany dynamics. As an amusing tale of mystery and family dynamics, “ACK Attack” offers a glimpse of Nantucket’s unique history wrapped in an amusing tale of bumbling detective work.
“There have been many books written about Nantucket. The island bookstores feature numerous coffee table books with gorgeous photography, as well as beach read romances, nonfiction histories and semi-fictional accounts of Nantucket’s myths, legends and ghost stories. I don’t think there are any whimsical detective stories offering information about the history, myths and legends of the island, both past and present,” Doran says.
