Fishermen's Court


Fiction - Thriller - General
355 Pages
Reviewed on 05/15/2019
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Andy is a ghostwriter of over sixty books for adults and children. His screenplays have been optioned numerous times in Hollywood. He has written/designed over twenty-five computer and video games--including many children's "classics" of the '90s such as Darby the Dragon, Magic Tales, several JumpStart titles, and 3D Dinosaur Adventure--and has penned the song lyrics for numerous entertainment titles. His stage play Empties has had multiple productions. Fishermen’s Court is his first novel.

Andy has been a devoted fan of thrillers for many years and has always wanted to write novels. He hopes his first one strikes a chord with readers. Fishermen's Court was inspired in part by a real-life event and in part by the lore and beauty of the Maine islands he loves.

Andy lives in Phoenix at the moment, and is happily married to Karen, a psychotherapist. He has two amazing daughters, Phelan and Quinn.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

Fishermen's Court by Andrew Wolfendon is a thriller about how one mistake can change a whole life. Finn Carroll just about survives on his meager income. A failed artist and a failed human, at least in his eyes, the last thing Finn expected when he returned home was to be attacked and made to commit suicide. He survives but a fake suicide note reveals information that leaves him cold – information he thought only he knew about an event that took place eighteen years before. This starts Finn off on a journey back to Musqasset Island, once his home and now the home of Miles, his best friend. He needs to discover who is after him and why has it taken them so long? The island is shut down as a raging storm breaks, trapping Finn on the island with his would-be killers and his past. With his shaky mental state, an alcoholic sister and people he thought were his friends, Finn’s life is about to take a turn that he never dreamed of – but can he survive it? And will he ever be the same again?

Wow! Andrew Wolfendon is now one of my new favorite authors. Fishermen’s Court is his debut novel and it is fantastic. A thriller of epic proportions, this is one of the most suspenseful books I ever had the pleasure to read. And believe me when I say this, it really was a pleasure to read. The action kicks off on the first page in an exquisitely written story and the suspense continues to build all the way through. The twists and turns lead you on an amazing journey through the present and the past in a wonderful jigsaw; the pieces are there but it doesn’t fall into place until the very end. There are plenty of suspects and more than one story here that meld together at the very end. The characters are excellent; their stories come out through the book as you learn who they are, what makes them tick and what really happened all those years ago. With plenty of action and a great pace, this book will keep you guessing right to the very end and, like me, you won't want to put it down. Fabulous story, I really hope to read more like this from Andrew Wolfendon in the near future.

Debjani Ghosh

May 1999. Two college friends returning from their graduation party at night. One drunk, one still sober enough to drive. One of them makes a fatal mistake. Eighteen years later a team of assassins ambushes Finn Carroll, a failed artist living a miserable life, attempt to murder him and stage it as a suicide. Finn survives and is shocked to find out they have left behind a suicide note mentioning a catastrophic incident in his past that only Finn knows about. Baffled, he moves to Musqasset Island, a remote island being blasted by a severe nor’ easter, to stay with an old friend - only to realize he has trapped himself amidst the very people who want him dead. Does the eighteen-year-old incident have anything to do with Finn’s current state of affairs? Even if it does, why now? Finn needs to discover these answers fast, or else … Fishermen’s Court by Andrew Wolfendon is one hell of a psychological thriller that took me by storm.

The pièce de résistance of Fishermen’s Court is its watertight plot. I could not find a single loophole in it. Wolfendon plunged me into action from page one, and the unrelenting, brisk pace resulted in taut suspense throughout the novel. Moreover, the author did not show his hand until the end, resulting in a satisfying denouément. Seldom do thrillers have space for character development. However, Fishermen’s Court proves to be different here as well. Wolfendon, without any exaggeration, has brilliantly portrayed the metamorphosis of Finn from a dispirited, depressed man to a man with a purpose. The author has deftly dealt with the literary ploy of getting trapped on a remote island during a raging storm.

Fishermen’s Court is hugely atmospheric, thanks to the author’s vivid descriptions. Further, Wolfendon’s "delirious love affair with the English language" shines through in this novel. He has a word for every situation, every tool, and every emotion. The crisp sentences made it a breeze for me to read this novel. If you want to read a suspenseful thriller with loads of action, just grab Fishermen’s Court by Andrew Wolfendon and settle on a comfy sofa. You won't notice when the time has passed. It’s a promising debut; I will be watching out for more from him.

Patricia Reding

I quite enjoy those rare occasions when I find myself able to drop what I must do and turn my attention to what I choose to do. Precisely this happened over the time I read Fishermen’s Court by Andrew Wolfendon. The tale opens with an introduction to Finnian Carroll, a thirty-something-year-old who, having known better days, finds himself battling depression. But then one night after moving into his parents’ home following the death of his mother, Finn’s life as a computer game artist grows decidedly worse. This occurs when one of a group of thugs attacks Finn from behind and then, with the help of his criminal cohorts, holds Finn hostage while they try to stage a suicide attempt for him via a drug and alcohol overdose. Fortunately, Finn retains a bit of consciousness. He reads the fake suicide note his felonious visitors leave behind, then drags himself to find help. Upon awakening later in a hospital, Finn is certain of a couple of things: first, Finn’s visitors seem to know of a long-held secret that could bring harm to him and another, and second—and perhaps of paramount importance—he does not want to die.

Fishermen’s Court is set on Musqasset, an east coast island, from whence Finn had moved some years back. There he left the love of his life Jeannie, his best friend Miles, and a full panoply of supporting characters, many of whom had been Finn’s artist friends when he resided there. Finn returns to the island to seek refuge from his would-be killers and to figure out who could possibly know his old secret. But secrets have a way of causing damage—and of making their way to the fore. In this respect, I found that this tale rang vitally true. Even better, the fullness and the authenticity of Andrew Wolfendon’s characters was masterful. Finn was sarcastic but entirely believable; Jeannie was self-destructive in a way I’ve seen play out with real people in real life more times than I could count; Miles exhibited the kind of self-centeredness one might expect from someone in his position; and so on. If you’re looking for an adventure and enjoy character-driven tales, you are sure to enjoy Fishermen’s Court.