Summary
Small Island is a crime thriller marking the debut of Anthony Pignataro’s Charley Ridgway series. Set in contemporary Maui on the Hawaiian Islands, the story follows Charley Ridgway, a former US Army officer now working as a bartender at a resort. His mundane life takes a dangerous turn when he becomes involved with Clarissa Daniels, a former B-movie actress connected to the local underworld. As Ridgway gets entangled in a web of corruption involving crooked law enforcement and shady real estate deals, he must navigate the hidden dangers lurking beneath the surface of this tropical paradise.
Plot
In Small Island, former US Army officer Charley Ridgway has settled into life as a bartender at a resort on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Maui. Still, he can’t help feeling bored and restless, which makes him vulnerable to trouble. One night behind the bar, he meets Clarissa Daniels, a former B-movie actress. While he is flirting with her, a young thief seizes on the opportunity to attempt to rob the bar’s cash register. Ridgway chases him across the resort and manages to catch him, but the hoodlum escapes. From these two encounters, Ridgway finds himself drawn into a dangerous world of corruption and deceit linked to a powerful real estate developer.
As he investigates corruption within local law enforcement and real estate development, Ridgway must confront both external threats and his own moral compromises. The story unfolds against the complex backdrop of Hawaiian culture, where the island's seemingly idyllic surface conceals a network of criminal activity and moral ambiguity.
Themes
Displacement and belonging
Charley Ridgway's experience as a former Army officer working as a bartender reflects themes of cultural and personal displacement. Despite living in a tropical paradise, he feels isolated and disconnected, viewing his surroundings as failing to meet his intellectual and emotional needs.
Corruption and moral ambiguity
Small Island explores how corruption permeates seemingly respectable institutions, from law enforcement to real estate development, forcing characters to navigate moral gray areas.
Appearance vs. reality
Small Island examines the contrast between Hawaii's tourist-friendly image and the darker realities of island life, where criminal activity and corruption thrive beneath the surface.
Identity and redemption
Anthony Pignataro delves into identity and personal redemption through his characters' struggles with societal expectations and moral compromise. The novel questions the facades that both individuals and communities maintain, revealing the tension between public appearances and private realities in a setting where the promise of paradise often masks deeper problems.
Characters
Charley Ridgway: A former US Army officer working as a bartender at a Maui resort. His dissatisfaction with life and search for meaning drive him into dangerous territory.
Clarissa Daniels: A former B-movie actress with ties to the local underworld and wealthy property developers.
Bill Hersey: A fellow bartender who becomes entangled in the web of lies and corruption.
Jack Rhodes: A prominent real estate developer who serves as a primary antagonist.
Unnamed young thief: A character whose attempted bar robbery sets off a chain of events that exposes the island's hidden dangers.
Maui cops: Law enforcement officers working with criminal elements, representing the systemic corruption Charley must confront.
Setting
Set in contemporary Maui, Small Island reflects Hawaii's evolution from an agricultural economy to a tourism-based one. The cultural tensions and rapid development that characterize modern Hawaii provide the backdrop for the story's exploration of displacement, corruption, and identity.
Quick facts
Published in 2011, Small Island is a crime thriller set in contemporary Maui, Hawaii.
Small Island is the first of three novels featuring protagonist Charley Ridgway, a former US Army officer turned bartender.
The story centers around corruption in law enforcement and real estate development.
Anthony Pignataro draws on his background as an investigative journalist to reveal some of the traps of living in paradise that are seldom seen by visiting vacationers.
Small Island is set against Hawaii's tourism-based economy and its hidden criminal networks.
Key supporting characters include a former B-movie actress and crooked cops.
Themes include moral ambiguity, cultural displacement, and the contrast between appearance and reality.
The audiobook version of Small Island is narrated by Jeffrey S. Robinson, an accomplished stage actor who captures the story’s suspense.
About the author
Anthony Pignataro is an author with a background as an investigative journalist. He is best known for his Charley Ridgway novels, crime thrillers set in contemporary Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. The series includes Small Island (2011), The Dead Season (2012), and Pau Hana Time (2016). He has also published a collection of his journalism, Stealing Cars with the Pros. He lives in Long Beach, California, and works as an editor at the local news co-op, Long Beach Watchdog.
