Harrison Leonard is a rising star in politics - the youngest representative in Congress, aiming for the very top. When Harry's chief of staff Krista notices a blank postcard addressed to him, she starts to suspect that her charismatic boss might have a dark past.

Pike Island is a very cookie-cutter thriller - written well, but not offering anything new to the genre. The characters were one-dimensional and hard to root for, but I loved the ending.

Pros: fast-paced action prevents dragging, the ending (could be controversial but I loved it)

Cons: nothing feels new or original (except maybe the ending?), group of "Scandanavian" dudes doing "Scandanavian" dude things, politics

Recommend: If you're looking for a quick read that won't bore you, you could try it. If you want something that will stick with you, probably pass.

Pike Island is a tight political thriller. It’s the story of a hotshot politician who has some secrets he wishes would remain buried in his past. This is a fast moving story, told via dual timelines, with some interesting characters and quite a few unexpected twists. You can’t count on those skeletons in the closet remaining silent forever. I’d like to thank Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Pike Island.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R29WXGW1788UM2/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Pike Island by Tony Wirt was a very addicting thriller.
A fun and fast read that had the best pace.
Riveting, captivating. I couldn't stop turning pages, so eager to find out what came next.
Wirt did such a fantastic job creating a simmering tension and a feeling of claustrophobia and impending doom.

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Perfectly suspenseful and amazing at keeping you engaged. This is my second book of Tony's now and he has a forever reader in me. I love his writing style and pacing and ability to tell and story and keep me drawn in.

Started off a bit slow but then was pretty gripping. I read it on an airplane and it's just the kind of book you want for travel - fast paced, easy to follow, interesting characters and entertaining. While this isn't the kind of book that will stick with you for very long, I liked the ending! And admittedly was a bit surprised....This is a 3.5 stars for sure!! If you find yourself in need of some entertainment on a flight - enjoy reading this first novel by Tony Wirt. I hope there's another one soon for when I travel long distances again.

I thought this book was good, It had my attention the whole time. I couldn’t put this book down. I would recommend reading it.

really well-rounded characters and the writing made this fly by. a nice fun distraction for a few hours

A quick suspenseful read!

I loved the even (always every other chapter) alternating timelines between present day and Summer 2003. The present day storyline was much slower paced at the beginning than the exciting 2003 storyline, but man, did that change at the end of the book! My jaw literally dropped.

There were many twists I saw coming ahead of time, but I didn’t mind because I was engaged in the storytelling and really enjoyed the suspenseful writing. I did not see the major twists at the end coming.

Both timelines involve Andrew Harrison Leonard, but the POVs focus on other people in his life.

2003 timeline: Jake- one of 4 friends, it’s his family’s lake house the boys are staying at for a week after high school graduation. “Andy” is introduced as a smooth talking confident teenage boy who can talk just about anyone into anything. The teens stumble upon a dangerous situation which comes back to haunt them in present day.

Present day timeline told from Krista’s POV. She is Harry’s (Andy now goes by his middle name in his political career) Chief of Staff. She has always been 3 steps ahead, but gets thrown for a loop when the Congressman starts receiving threatening mail referencing the summer of 2003. She thinks she knows Harry inside and out, but this makes her question if there is something more sinister in his past he’s been keeping from her. If his political career fails, so does hers.

I’ll be checking out the author’s other works after enjoying this one so much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This review will be shared on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Amazon.

Pub Date Nov 01 2024

A relatively quick, easy read that goes through all the expected beats of a dual-timeline mystery thriller. Wirt isn't reinventing the wheel here, and that's okay. I do wish the characters were more easily discernible and fully drawn; there were two supporting teen characters that had literally no development whatsoever, to the point that it didn't matter which was being mentioned because they had no distinct traits or personalities.

Still, though it's predictable, it's never boring. Wirt has the skills to do better than this, and hopefully his next will.

This was not for me. While I enjoyed the chapters about the young men on the island, the political chapters bored me. I don't want to read about politics in such detail.

Wow!! This book is a quick, thrilling read. I didn’t want to put it down and read it in two sittings. The characters are well developed and like to surprise you. This is a book you won’t regret reading!!

I loved the premise of the book, but it didn’t land like I had hoped. I had the book mostly figured out during the first third book, was hoping for more suspense and surprise.

I really enjoyed this political thriller! Told in present day and flashback POVs, I was intrigued by the storyline and loved figuring out how everything fell together. The pace quickens as the story unfurls and the twists were unexpected which is a definite win in my book 🙌🏼

There were times where I felt the story stalled a bit in the flashbacks but I found this to be an overall enjoyable read that checked all the boxes. Recommend if you like Scandal, The Good Wife, and House of Cards 💼

4.5 stars

This is a textbook popcorn thriller, just done to perfection. While it eases you in with a slow start, it quickly picks up the pace and doesn’t let off the gas.

For most of the book I thought I had a pretty good handle on what was going on but man, those last two twists were done so perfectly! They hit at just the right moment and had such a good wow factor. And that ending! It was so satisfying while also leaving me wanting more.

This was my first by Wirst but I can confidently say it will not be my last.

Read if you love:
🕰️ Alternating timeline
🃏 House of Cards
🍿 Popcorn thriller
📚 Quick reads

Thank you Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for my review copy!

Mixed feeling on this one for me I enjoyed how quick a read it was and had some good twists. It was well written and had some good surprises I just didn't really find myself caring about what happened to any of the main characters. All in all decent suspense/thriller and would recommend giving it a read. I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

When a strange postcard arrives at the offices of Freshman Representative Andrew Harrison Leonard, his Chief of Staff Krista Walsh is concerned and puzzled. A picture of a lake in Minnesota leads to discoveries about the man she has supported since his days on the City Council in Rochester, Minnesota, to his current position and hopes to be with him until he is elected President of the United States. She thought she knew everything about Harry's past, but the postcard leads to new potentially damning information.

As Harry gradually doles out information to Krista, alternate chapters show what really happened at Cedar Lake the summer after Harry and his three best friends graduated from high school. And, the more Krista learns, the more she is concerned about Harry's political future and her own future too.

This was an exciting and page-turning story. I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. Fans of suspenseful stories will really enjoy it. I enjoyed it especially because the setting was a part of Minnesota that was familiar to me. I also liked the moral dilemma that Krista faced as she had to decide what to do about the new knowledge she gained about her boss.

Pike Island
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“The woods that covered Pike Island were almost supernaturally thick, more a camouflage wall than a shoreline of trees.” This book had the right elements, but it fell really flat for me! This is definitely a slow burn thriller and if that’s your thing then it may be for you, I personally like my thrillers to have a twist on every page lol Here are some elements I liked…
🧍‍♂️🧍‍♀️ dual POVS
⏰ past and present chapters + short chapters + shorter book overall
🗳️ timely with our upcoming election, our main character is a politician
📝 I know what you did last summer plot
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Unfortunately though, I felt like it was very predictable and honestly anticlimactic. It played out the way I thought I would with no twists! I personally would say skip 🥱 but maybe give it a try if you like calmer thrillers with no gore ⭐️⭐️

Greetings from Cedar Lake! A blank postcard sent to the office of political wunderkind Harry Leonard causes the Congressman to let slip his normal calm, in charge personality. What, wonders his chief of staff Krista Walsh, could that greeting mean. A lot, as it turns out. Pike Island is told in flashbacks to the summer after high school graduation. Harry and his best friends, all about to go down very different life paths, have a wild, alcohol fueled weekend. The secrets they have been keeping since then have resurfaced and other, deeper, more dangerous ones have also been shaken loose. What does this mean for a man on the path to the Presidency? And what will he do about it?

Pike Island is a dark, disturbing thriller. The plot is twisted and full of surprises. Harry Leonard and Krista Walsh are driven only by ambition. Without spoilers, I can”t say more but you will not be able to put this one down. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Tony Wirt for this ARC.

Harry Leonard is a rising politician on track to a future Presidential nomination. Until a postcard shows up at his office and everything he has worked for and towards is threatened to fail. The postcard is addressed to "Andy Leonard" a nickname that no one knows. Now, Harry's secretary Krista starts to dig around and ask questions, and each detail is more disturbing than the last.

While I enjoyed this, I did find myself a bit bored at first. While I always appreciate duel timelines, some of this was a bit too boring. Character development was also lacking. Overall, potential was there, but execution needed help.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Pike Island by Tony Wirt is a thrilling political mystery that skillfully intertwines ambition, secrets, and suspense. The story follows Andrew Harrison “Harry” Leonard, a rising star in Congress who seems destined for the presidency—until a mysterious postcard disrupts his trajectory. Addressed to "Andy Leonard," a name from his past, the postcard sends Harry’s chief of staff, Krista Walsh, down a dark path to uncover the secrets he's been hiding since his teenage years.

What makes Pike Island so engaging is its tense unraveling of the mystery surrounding Harry's past. Krista’s investigation keeps the reader on edge as she digs deeper into the ominous secrets tied to a lake and a summer that Harry would rather forget. The stakes are high, not just for Harry’s political future, but for Krista’s own career, as she’s forced to grapple with how much she’s willing to risk to protect her boss.

Wirt masterfully builds suspense throughout the novel, creating a gripping story of power, deception, and moral ambiguity. The cabin mystery is slowly revealed, drawing the reader into a web of lies and shocking truths. If you enjoy stories with political intrigue and long-buried secrets, Pike Island is a compelling read that will keep you turning pages late into the night.