One might understandably think that living and working year-round on a tiny, remote island in Lake Erie would be dull.
But for me, living and working on Trouble Island is both a refuge and a terror.
I’m Aurelia Escalante (not my actual name if I’m being honest—though for safety’s sake I must be guardedly honest) and I used to be the best friend of Rosita McGee, the estranged wife of Eddie McGee, who owns the island. Now, I work for Rosita as a personal assistant and housekeeper on Trouble Island, where she lives in reclusive mourning after the loss of her son. And to avoid being around Eddie.
And I don’t blame her. Eddie is a gangster—a terrifying one. I know, because I was once married to one of his men.
The island is a refuge because I’m on the lam after my husband’s demise, working under an assumed name.
It’s also a terror because of Eddie’s visitors during the warm months—other gangsters, well-heeled politicians and businessmen and their wives (or lovers.) What if, I fear, someone recognizes me?
But now it’s November, and the island and Lake Erie are quite cold. The island and the McGee’s mansion are closed to visitors until next spring. In these quiet days, it’s easier to try to figure out a way to leave Trouble Island behind and start my life over somewhere much warmer.
Meanwhile, over the winter, the island is home only to Rosita and me and a small staff: the Carmichaels, who are in charge of the grounds and mansion, and two bodyguards, Seamus and Liam.
My days are filled with taking care of Rosita, who never leaves her third-floor suite of rooms in the mansion, and helping out the Carmichaels as needed. I bring Rosita her meals, clean her rooms, and tend to her laundry. With each encounter, I hope we’ll be friendly as we once were, that she’ll open up to me. But so far, either she is withdrawn into her bedroom, or reposes in stone cold silence in her suite’s sitting area. Since she arrived on the island to take up permanent residence after her son’s death, she has not left her suite. I’m the only one who has seen her, and she never lifts her veil.
And of course I help the Carmichaels—Maxine with cooking and cleaning, and Henry with tending to the pool, the tennis court, the gardens, the topiary along the walkway from the main dock to the mansion’s grand entrance.
When there are moments of rest, I stay busy. I read a lot; the mansion’s library is well stocked with books, many classics. The books, as far as the McGees are concerned, are just for show. I’m the only person who reads them. I bird watch. And I swim in the lake, even when it is frigid and most people wouldn’t want to dip in even a toe.
Of late, I also steal glances at the newest bodyguard, Seamus. He’s mysterious and handsome and has only been here a few weeks.
All of my activities—reading, swimming, bird watching, Seamus watching—are forms of escape for me until I can truly leave behind (I hope) Trouble Island…
Trouble Island
Genre: Historical Suspense
Release: December 2024
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link
A gripping new novel inspired by a real place and events from the author’s family, Trouble Island is the standalone suspense debut from historical mystery writer Sharon Short.
Many miles from anywhere in the middle of Lake Erie, Trouble Island serves as a stop-off for gangsters as they run between America and Canada. The remote isle is also the permanent home to two women: Aurelia Escalante, who serves as a maid to Rosita, lady of the mansion and wife to the notorious prohibition gangster, Eddie McGee. In the freezing winter of 1932, the women anticipate the arrival of Eddie and his strange coterie: his right-hand man, a doctor, a cousin, a famous actor, and a rival gangster who Rosita believes murdered their only son.
Aurelia wants nothing more than to escape Trouble Island, but she is hiding a secret of her own. She is in fact not a maid, but a gangster’s wife in hiding, as she runs from the murder she committed five years ago. Her friend Rosita took her in under this guise, but it has become clear that Rosita wants to keep Aurelia right where she is.
Shortly after the group of criminals, celebrities, and scoundrels arrive, Rosita suddenly disappears. Aurelia plans her getaway, going to the shore to retrieve her box of hidden treasures, but instead finds Rosita’s body in the water. Someone has made sure Aurelia was the one to find her. An ice storm makes unexpected landfall, cutting Trouble Island off from both mainlands, and with more than one murderer among them.
Both a gripping locked room mystery, and a transporting, evocative portrait of a woman in crisis, Trouble Island marks the enthralling standalone suspense debut from Sharon Short, promising to be her breakout novel, inspired by a real island in Lake Erie, and true events from her own rich family history.
About the author
Sharon Short is the author of more than 15 published books. TROUBLE ISLAND is her debut standalone suspense. She writes the “Level Up Your (Writing) Life” column for Writer’s Digest. She is a three-time recipient of the Individual Excellence Award in Literary Arts from Ohio Arts Council, a two-time recipient of the Montgomery County (Ohio) Arts & Cultural District (MCAD) Artist Opportunity Grant, and has been a John E. Nance Writer in Residence at Thurber House (Columbus, Ohio). Under the pen name Jess Montgomery, she is also the author of the Kinship Historical Mysteries, set in 1920s Appalachian Ohio and inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff. Sharon and her husband live in southern Ohio; they are the proud parents of two adult daughters. When not writing, Sharon of course loves reading, but also spending time with family and friends, swimming, hiking, occasionally crocheting and baking, watching film and television, and spoiling her cats. Reach Sharon via her website, sharonshort.com, her Facebook and Instagram Pages, both at @SharonGShortAuthor.