An Isolated Incident by Susan R Sloan

Released: 1998

An Isolated Incident falls into its own unique category, adding a spice of literary content to its fictional and suspense elements. The novel explores racism and discrimination of inhabitants on a small island off the Washington coast after the teenage daughter of a prominent banker is murdered.

An Isolated Incident begins with the murder of Tara Breckenridge, and soon introduces us to detective Ginger Earley, police chief Ruben Martinez, and history teacher Jerry Frankel. Between Ginger's upperclass background, to Ruben's Hispanic heritage, and to Jerry's Jewish religion, we witness the island's reaction and prejudices in regards to how they handle the violent crime.


Susan R Sloan provides us with a tasteful and elegant background and history of the island starting with the original settlers, which creates a perfect visual and understanding of the community. Scattered throughout the novel are snippets of "letters to the editor" from the local newspaper, which further accentuates the colorful (yet accusatory) voices of the island.

An Isolated Incident will give you a combination of mystery, romance, court-room drama, and the incomprehensible story about racism in modern times. If you're smart enough to read between the lines, you'll have a pretty good idea who the sicko is in this one by the time you reach the very last page!

I highly recommend this book to fans of both fiction/literature and mystery/suspense. It was written so well it was hard to put down and I looked forward to reading it every chance I had this past week!

Susan R Sloan currently has three other books published that I'm looking forward to reading. If you like this one, try Guilt by Association (1994), Act of God (2002), and Behind Closed Doors (2004).