{Review} The Prodigal by Michael Hurley

Goodreads

Pride, betrayal, forgiveness . . . and the eternal sea. The Prodigal tells the mystical tale of four people on Ocracoke Island whose destiny is tied to an abandoned schooner, thought to have been lost at sea more than a century ago, that one day drifts ashore. Marcus O'Reilly, a renegade Catholic priest, must confront his inner demons. Ibrahim Joseph, a Bahamian fugitive, must face his past. Aidan Sharpe, a fallen lawyer, struggles with self-doubt and his growing affection for Molly McGregor, a fearless towboat captain who cannot find the courage to love. They will all be drawn into a 2,000-year-old mystery that unfolds with the reappearance of the ship.

The Prodigal is not like any of the book is normally read, as it has an older male character as the lead (who happens to be a lawyer). I generally shy away from novels that focus on more than one person as well. However, the description and previous praise of the book intrigued me, so I figured what the heck. 

The Prodigal was a charming mystery that focuses on several different characters. The characters all show examples of different moral extremes. One is devout (priest), one is inherently good and honest (Molly), one lies and is self centered (Aidan), and Ibraham who is a fugitive. I enjoyed the contrast between the characters, but as the book mainly focuses on Aidan, we get to see his growth as a character more clearly as he learns to love and be a better person. The mystery aspect was intriguing, while the imagery painted some beautiful pictures in my mind. It is hard to hate a book with so much beauty in it. I thought it was nice how the characters all tied together. There were some fun parts and I enjoyed many of the characters, especially Molly. She was very refreshing. The very original idea behind the mystery boat was very well done. There were parts of the book, however, that were a bit hard to follow as well as other times where the progression of the novel was very slow and left me a little bored. There were strong currents of religion as well as several lawyer and nautical themed passages that were hard for me to follow, but that may just be my general lack of knowledge towards those topics that made them less engaging for me. There will be several other readers who will be able to enjoy that aspect, though. Over all, it was a fascinating mystery ,full of unique and interesting characters. Would recommend to lovers of mysteries, light romance, religious undertones, and diverse characters. 

3.5/5