Another great beach book, this story moves quickly and maintains the reader's interest by intertwining a love story with the protagonist's dark past and illegal activites.

Michigan author Steve Hamilton has written a riveting coming of age story about Michael, who at 18, has been mute since experiencing a traumatic event 10 years prior. During the course of one year, he discovers that he has two major talents--he is a gifted artist, and a genius at picking locks and cracking safes. These talents lead him down quite different paths. Hamilton jumps back and forth between two time periods--Michael's last summer of high school, and the summer after. The tension builds in both times, and you can't wait to find out what will happen next. Definitely a page-turner. Although the reader may not always agree with the choices Michael makes, it certainly creates an exciting and unpredictable life for him! Even though we couldn't find any discussion questions for this book, we had no trouble finding things to talk about. Was Michael the master of his fate or did he just allow things to happen to him? How is he at taking responsibility for his own actions? What will his life be like when he is released from prison? Will he speak again? A quick read, different for our club, but pretty popular.

We selected this book because we wanted to try mystery and because the author was an award winner. Most of us found this book to be very much a \\\"man\\\'s book\\\" and were confused by the constant switching from one time period to another.

Turns out we all felt this is a young adult novel, which isn't a bad thing but over all we felt it wasn't a good fit for our group. It was ok. There was some interesting aspects to childhood trauma and how it affect one's life. Also a main character who doesn't talk was unique