The Wickies is wicked good

The Wickies is wicked good. Author Frank Anthony’s novel is a compelling read, with lots of good and bad, laughter and tragedy, murder and mayhem. Every time I figured everything was going to turn out well, another tragedy struck.

Yes, this is a page-turner. The good guys are boyhood friends and include two handicapped kids. Throughout the 566 pages, there are so many twists and turns that you won’t be able to stop reading. It’s a long book, but so good that I read it in two sittings.

As a guy who’s been involved in politics for 50 years, I especially liked the plot around some sinister politicians. Seemed very real to me!

But what will stick with you is the lifelong very-caring friendships of those boyhood friends. Together one night, they witness a murder, and that propels the story all the way to the end of the book.

The Wickies is set in an ocean-side town near Portland, Maine, and you will recognize the places where the story unfolds. I can only  wonder, did Frank Anthony gaze out at those islands as he wrote this book?

 

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.