I first picked this book up because of the title. Something about the work ‘prodigal’ always draws me in! But then I saw the setting, Ocracoke Island, and knew I would be reading this one. The Outer Banks is one of my favorite places and I’ve been to Ocracoke more than once! The beginning of the book seemed to ebb and flow, just like the ocean. It was slow paced, which was good, because there were several characters introduced, and I sensed eventually they would all be connected, so I wanted to take my time getting to know them. I loved the characters. All were flawed, some more than others, but most were loveable characters that I wanted to know.

The story revolves around Aiden, a recently disgraced lawyer who has been struggling with himself for some time. After losing his law license, he comes to Ocracoke to regroup under the care of a priest, Father Marcus. Marcus is himself flawed, an alcoholic, banished to the island because of his conflict with the Bishop. There are so many characters, I can’t tell you about all of them, but one of my favorite is Sarah, a woman who washed ashore with no memory of who she is, but who marches to her own drummer.

Once we get to know the characters, the action begins. Sarah disappears, and while searching for her, Marcus and his friends discover Prodigal, a worn old boat in need of refurbishment. The group decides to race Prodigal in a big money sailing race. There are ‘bad guys’ racing the big new boat. I don’t know much about racing, and some of the terms were new to me, but I think the author did a good job of using the language of sailing while explaining what I needed to know to understand this story. I think if I were actually involved in racing, I would enjoy this story even more! The story was exciting and the ending good.

There was some sadness in the story but I enjoyed it anyway. The story would be great for a discussion group! It is thought provoking on several levels! I’m still thinking about it and what it all means. There were some things at the end that I still didn’t quite understand, but that is okay. I think I’m going to take the advice of one of the characters in the book…“telling me not to try -- to just accept it on faith, along with everything else we don’t know or can’t understand”