Barbary Point

Alan Nayes

At 28, Kelly English has succeeded in her goals. She is the editor of a major magazine, lives in Los Angeles, and is engaged to an older man she loves and who loves her. She receives a phone call from her mother. Her father, who Kelly hasn't seen since she was three, has died and left his estate to his daughter.

Kelly has no memories of her father. He never contacted her. She loves her stepfather and has not missed her real father. But now she is flying to Wisconsin to close up her father's estate and sell the property on Lake Winnebago. It turns out it is a small piece of property but totally defined her father. He was a fisherman who loved the lake. He didn't want to leave it.

There Kelly meets Mitch Gabriel, her father's best friend. Mitch is about five years older than Kelly and she is immediately attracted. She decides to stay at her father's small cabin overnight. That meeting leads to a week that changes Kelly's life.

Alan Nayes can write a very complex tale - such as his novel Gargoyles. Barbary Point has a good basic story. But it's too short. Nayes has some good basic conflict points that should have been developed more in the book. He may have been limited in word count, causing him to cut it back.

Kelly learns things about her father that her mother never told her. The reader learns that Kelly's mother kept quite a bit from her. Unfortunately, the conflict is not followed through. It would be nice to see the confrontation and resolution between the two. There should have been more about Thomas, her fiancee. He isn't given any depth in this book. Although Kelly's feelings for him are touched upon, his reactions to her continued stay in Wisconsin are downplayed.

The ending is poignant. Kelly's emotions and decisions are appropriate for this story ending. Barbary Point needs to be filled out. Nayes has a decent story basis with promise. If it were meant to be a novella, some of the potential conflicts should have been left out. If it is expanded and rounded out, this would move from a nice story to a compelling romance.

Notice:  Strong sexual content