Resort Isle book description
Resort Isle deals with the shattered the life of San Diego Detective Frank Dugan as he endures the brutal murders of his young wife and two children at the hands of criminals who have revolved in and out of prison. Dugan cannot exact his revenge on these examples of humanity at its lowest, but he resolves to put them someplace where there can be no return to law-abiding society. A place where there will be no direct supervision, cell phones, or Internet, and no chance ever of escape.
The term “life without parole” in the prison system has become meaningless. Murderers return to society to murder again, and the death penalty is only carried out after the convicted felons are on Medicare. But Frank Dugan and a popular state’s attorney find an uninhabited island a hundred miles off the coast of California and convince the government to use it as a model experiment to give dehumanized inmates, who spend 23-hours a day locked up like kennel dogs, a chance at self-governing their numbers and, at the same time, practically eliminate recidivist crime and save the state $60,000 in annual costs to house and supervise a single inmate.
The island experiment gets legs and support comes from a most unexpected quarter: the inmates themselves. They are more than willing to trade a concrete box for a tropical isle in the palms, even though it’s surrounded by the densest population of man-eating sharks on the globe and several gunboats. Everything is going as the detective has envisioned. That is, until he gets framed for murder and sent to the island. He is dumped into the very community of deadly criminals he’s arrested and put at the island, killers who have little concern about further punishment for their acts.
Below are a few reviews from readers of the book:
♦ Detective Frank Dugan has to face the unthinkable, now alone, he must forward or die. His wife Amy, and two young children were brutally murdered in their home. When the highly sensational criminal trial ends setting the killers free, Frank must decide what’s next suicide or fight. “Frank saw his face in the rear view mirror. His eyes were the ones he saw on his marine buddies in Desert Storm before battle. The eyes of a warrior. Now there was another war to wage, another hill to take, another engagement. Maybe the biggest of his life.”
♦ Thriller, politics, murder, a drug lord boss and a determined detective makes this a powerful novel not to be missed. I love the character of Frank Dugan, a commanding detective, but he also has a heart as he has to come to terms when all his loved ones are murdered. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep readers on the edge of their seats. An intriguing plot, that even in the midst of politics, readers remain engaged. I look forward to continuing this outstanding series as Paul weaves a suspenseful masterpiece; making myself, as well as captivating readers wonder where Detective Dugan will take us next.
♦ The author builds a tale that will suck you in. I instantly liked Frank, a young honest and driven detective and his family. It was hard to read of their gruesome deaths and know that the killers were walking free. I kept trying to figure out how there was no evidence left that could tie them to the crime. It was a horrible twist that Frank was betrayed by someone he knew well. I couldn’t believe that greed would be so strong to allow small children to suffer like that. The other characters were not as developed as Frank but reasonably unlikable as bad guys or likable as good guys.
♦ I had tried to figure out how Frank was going to get to the point of being on the island but would never have guessed the way it happened. Frank escapes several attempts on his life from his nemesis Rico Guzman. The story pace is pretty steady until almost the end where it speeds up when Frank gets to the island. Due to his personality, he doesn’t want to kill in cold blood even his nemesis, and uses the island’s natural resources to help him out. Overall, good read for anyone who likes to read crime thrillers.
♦ The character, Detective Frank Dugan, is his lead character in the series of books he has out currently, including THE OMEGA FORMULA , and several planned for the future. His new novel, MURDER COMES TO MARTIN COUNTY, another Frank Dugan crime thriller, will be making its debut later in 2024. Another novel by the author is already out and titled, A KILLER SEASON, a thriller about dangerous gambling in Las Vegas, and gunplay that carries into the international arena.
♦ With his experience and knowledge, the author touches all corners of description, and gives a easy flowing narrative that is to the point.
♦ “So you imagine this remote island is going to magically transform the meanest, cruelest, most deranged, and out-of-touch-with-reality misfits into penal utopians.” “I have no idea how this is going to play out. I want criminals of their ilk put where there’s no return to civilized society. If people like the ones who killed my family want to kill each other, that’s their choice. If they decide to play nice and honor rules and regs to live together.”
♦ Vengeance: eye for and eye approach. Protagonist Frank Dugan has lost 3 lives who formed his core family, and as reader we feel his desperation working on his shattered life.
♦ “Every peace‑loving citizen demands justice. Frank Dugan here, as a husband, a father, and a decorated veteran and police officer, pleads with you, his distinguished peers, to, one by one, make it impossible for these four, insufferable individuals to ever cause innocents pain again. To ensure this, we have only one recourse. We ask for the death penalty. We ask that societal cancers be removed. Cut out so they can’t reappear.”
♦ A good book for those who like a suspense and crime thriller. A special thanks goes to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Harford County Sheriff’s Department for taking their valuable time to show the author the technical inside to real police and forensic work, which the author incorporated so well in his writing.
♦ “Resort Isle: Detective Frank Dugan begins” is the first book in a series called “Detective Frank Dugan” written by Paul Sekulich, natural-born dreamer and an lover of the arts, as he describes himself. This book was a Winner in the 2016 Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.
♦ First I will use some lines to describe the cover. It is colorful and attracts any reader’s attention. Moreover, the skull underwater and the black frame give you the idea of a thriller. I felt captivated by it. This series of books has as its main character a detective called Frank Dugan. After being the victim of several criminals, Frank wants to put all of them in a place from where they could never escape. The innovative solution is a resort isle which is a dot in the Pacific Ocean, a place from where there’s no possible escape. What the detective did not expected was that he would be a prisoner of his own idea.
♦ The idea of the story is marvelous. I really enjoyed and liked it. Moreover, the book is well written and you read page after page wanting for more to happen. I would certainly recommend reading it.
♦ Resort Isle: Detective Frank Dugan begins (Detective Frank Dugan series Book 1) written by Paul Sekulich is a captivating thriller novel. I thoroughly enjoyed how the plot came together. The writing is descriptive and the author does a great job at getting the reader hooked and keeping their interest. The story for this novel is quite different as the main character, Frank, is determined to help keep criminals away from society, thus leads to Resort Isle, an island used to house hardened criminals with no way to escape except through shark infested waters. The many hardships Frank goes through, throughout the book, led to my attachment to the character to grow. I really felt for him and wanted him to succeed in his endeavors. I highly recommend this novel to those who enjoy a good thriller with twists and turns to keep you guessing. This book was a great one to start with in what is sure to be an amazing book series.
