The Vines: A Novel

Product Description

Cross Genre Award-Winner and Finalist in the Mystery/Suspense, Historical Fiction, and General Fiction categories of the 2021 International Book Awards
Cross Genre Winner and Medical Thriller Winner of the 2021 National Indie Excellence Awards
Eric Hoffer Award 2021 Finalist

In the shadows of New York City lies forbidden North Brother Island, where the remains of a shuttered hospital hide the haunting memories of century-old quarantines and human experiments. The ruins conceal the scarred and beautiful Cora, imprisoned by contagions and the doctors who torment her. When Finn, a young urban explorer, arrives on the island and glimpses an enigmatic beauty through the foliage, intrigue turns to obsession as he seeks to uncover her past–and his own family’s dark secrets. By unraveling these mysteries, will he be able to save Cora? Will Cora meet the same tragic ending as the thousands who’ve already perished on the island? The Vines intertwines North Brother Island’s horrific and elusive history with a captivating tale of love, betrayal, survival, and loss.

Review

“THE VINES weaves beautifulwriting around an unsettling mystery: Who is the strange, scarred woman livingon a seemingly uninhabitable island? Shelley Nolden’s debut seems not justprescient – given the world’s current focus on virology and immunizations – butalso timeless, as it illustrates in painful detail how mankind seems destinedto repeat our cruelest mistakes. Luckily for us readers, there’s a bright threadof hope running through this book – as well as the promise of a sequel.”–Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of You Are Not Alone  

“Highly original and richly drawn, Shelley Nolden’s THE VINES features one ofthe most fascinating central characters you’ll ever meet. Drawing on both thedark history of North Brother Islandand today’s painfully immediate worries about immunity and transmission ofdeadly disease, this debut transcends genre to combine history, thrills,obsession, medical ethics, and more intothe compelling story of three generations of doctors and one remarkable woman.”–Greer Macallister, bestselling authorof The Magician’s Lie and The Arctic Fury  

“Eerily timely and profoundly compelling, THE VINES is an unputdownable,unforgettable saga, the journey of a seemingly helpless, persecuted Americanwoman who survives and battles back, against all odds; this first in whatpromises to be an explosive series signals the arrival of Shelley Nolden’smasterful new voice in hybrid fiction.”–May Cobb, author of The Hunting Wives
  

“Everycharacter in this book is incredibly unique…the history and science in thisbook is exceedingly well thought out, well researched and fabulously detailed.Where Ms. Nolden truly excels is the historical portions…For fans of real-lifehistory, science and mysteries alike, Shelley Nolden weaves a magical storywith an abundance of intrigue that will leave readers eager for a sequel.”

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Ind’TaleMagazine
   

“In a debut that is part horror novel, part thoughtexperiment, Nolden has accomplished the feat of getting readers toask themselves what horrors can be done to serve the greater good.”–Booklist  

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ShellyNolden
‘s first book — with a promise of more — is awonderful mix of science fiction, history, fantasy and some wishful thinking; aworthy read on so many levels.”

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BookTrib

“An original, deftly written and inherentlycompelling novel of love, betrayal, survival, and loss, THE VINES draws uponthe author’s own emotionally charged medical history and experiences adroitlyintertwined with North Brother Island’s horrific and elusive history in acompulsive page turner of a read from cover to cover.”

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MidwestBook Review

“This is a dark medical/psychologicalthriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats… Fans of historicalor medical thrillers will be mesmerized by this novel.”

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Historical Novels Review

From the Author

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