Dear Fellow Reader,

With this review, I am finally caught up with my reviews of freebie books. (You know the drill, I am given a copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review.)

Stuck in Manistique is not a heavy, dark read, in contrast to some of the books I have read lately. It is a nice story about Mark and Emily. Mark goes to Manistique, Michigan, because he has inherited a house from his estranged aunt. His aunt, Vivian, had been a doctor who traveled the world, going from one emergency to the next. He doesn’t know why she left him the house. His intention is to sell it as soon as possible. Once there, he discovers that the house was a bed and breakfast and that people have reservations to stay there.

Before he can cancel the reservations, the doorbell rings. There stands Emily with an eye patch. Emily has just finished medical school and is supposed to be going to Mackinac Island to meet her lover before she starts her residency at a hospital in Chicago. Emily is having doubts about meeting her lover. She has decided that she is not going to go when she hits a deer outside of Manistique. Her car needs repairs and she needs to have her eye checked. Manistique is the closest town, so her car is towed to the repair shop there and she goes to the local ER to have her eye checked. After telling her that her car won’t be ready until the next day, the car repair shop receptionist sends her over to the bed and breakfast because it is the only place in town that is available.

Mark tries to discourage Emily from staying there by telling her that his aunt is away and the inn isn’t prepared for guests, but in the end, they decide that Emily can stay for the night.

While Mark gets Emily settled, the doorbell rings again. Mark was trying to just ignore it but Emily answers it and there is George. George is on a gambling bus trip and has been kicked out of the local hotel. Despite Mark trying to discourage it, George then moves into the inn for the night.

This is the beginning of an interesting cast of characters who spend the next week in or around the inn. Mark finally admits that his aunt is dead. Emily’s lover shows up. A couple comes that are on a trip to drive an all-electric car around Lake Michigan. But somehow, no one is exactly what they seem.

I will admit that there are times that I don’t understand why the characters are doing what they are doing. Like why did Mark not admit that his aunt was dead? The story tells the story of Mark and Emily’s lives and explores Vivian’s life and that holds some surprises for Mark.

Part of the reason I did like the book is the setting. If you have ever been up in that area of Michigan, it is a pleasant reminder of how pretty the area is and all the quaint spots there.

Thanks for reading!