Vacationland: Man plans, God laughs

by Nat Bowditch Goodale

Overview

Donny Coombs is a fifth generation Maine lobsterman, and he is getting tired of being pushed around. His new neighbors - from away - are on a crusade to save Maine from the Mainers. His girlfriend's upper class father is bent on killing their relationship. And an Islesboro lobsterman covets Donny's territory and isn't getting the message to back off.Ugly undercurrents and spring tight tensions lie beneath the pristine surface of white caps on blue bays and schooner sails on the horizon. Hostilities come to a boil and the results are not pretty. Welcome aboard.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780989840606
Publisher:	Bowditch Press
Publication date:	10/03/2013
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

Nathaniel Bowditch Goodale comes from a deep seafaring heritage. He is licensed to captain a 100 ton vessel, pilot a single engine floatplane in instrument conditions, and drive a big rig on the interstate highway system. He was a 40 year resident of Waldo County, Maine, where this story is set. He now resides in Cuenca, Ecuador, where he is writing his third novel. He is married and has four children. For more information, you are invited to visit him at www.natgoodale.com

Editorial Reviews

2014-04-02
A Maine lobsterman endures a barrage of threats and sabotage from various people before finally seeking retribution in Goodale’s debut thriller.Donny Coombs has enough trouble keeping his lobster boat, Pot Luck, above water with the recession and rising fuel costs. But he also must contend with affluent neighbors insisting he beautify his property, another lobsterman elbowing his way into his fishing spots and a father demanding that Donny stop dating his daughter, Shelly. Vague warnings soon turn to vandalism: Someone dumps sugar in his truck’s gas tank and tampers with his boat’s fuel line. As the threats increase and become deadlier, Donny looks for payback. The novel is well-paced; the first sign of problems to come is an innocent visit from new neighbor Del Nelson asking Donny to clean his front lawn. But while Donny can shrug off Shelly’s father’s telling him to dump his college-age daughter and deliver a message to obtrusive lobsterman Stanley by cutting the man’s traps loose, he can’t ignore someone poisoning his oak tree or setting his boat adrift. Anticipation heightens as things sour for Donny, especially when someone shoots at him. It’s even more unsettling that the suspect pool, which also includes Del’s abrasive wife, Eliza, is so extensive. Donny can’t be sure who exactly is responsible for each damaging or potentially lethal act. A stellar protagonist who doesn’t back down easily, Donny isn’t above directly confronting Stanley, who, intentionally or not, may have tried to kill him. But the lobsterman earns the most points for the way he treats Tut, his dog. There’s a correlation between the two: Donny goes after the rich girl, while Tut has his eyes set on the Nelsons’ poodle; Donny mangles Stanley’s traps to re-establish his territory, while Tut marks his territory throughout the story; and Tut growls at nearly everyone, paralleling Donny’s gruff exterior. It’s a subtly comical link, but the association also underscores in Donny some of Tut’s best traits: loyalty, confidence and, yes, even doggedness.So understated that readers won’t know they’re reading a thriller until they’re already fully immersed.

Kirkus Reviews