PEREGRINE ISLAND has been recognized as a 2018 Semifinalist for the Somerset Book Award for Literary Fiction, a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.
PEREGRINE ISLAND has been recognized as a Reader’s Favorite 2018 Literary Fiction Award Winner.
PEREGRINE ISLAND has been recognized as a 2018 Reader Views Literary Award Finalist for Adults – Fiction.
PEREGRINE ISLAND has been recognized as the 2017 Winner by the NYC Big Book Award for Mystery.
PEREGRINE ISLAND has been recognized as a 2017 Best Book Awards Finalist in General Fiction: for Fiction, for Literary, and for Mystery & Suspense.
PEREGRINE ISLAND has been recognized as the 2017 Winner by the National Indie Excellence Awards for Regional Fiction: Northeast.
PEREGRINE ISLAND has been recognized as a 2017 Finalist by the National Indie Excellence Awards for Fiction – General.
PEREGRINE ISLAND has been recognized as a 2017 International Book Award Finalist for Literary Fiction.
PEREGRINE ISLAND has been recognized as a 2017 Distinguished Favorite by the Independent Press Award for Literary Fiction.
PEREGRINE ISLAND has been recognized as an Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards National Medalist for Best US Northeast Regional Fiction.
“This [audiobook] has it all: An old house on an island, a mystery, a romance, and family intrigue. Overall, this is an impressive debut made all the better by superb narration. Aspenlieder has a lovely, calming voice; May effectively ages hers as the family matriarch; and Calkins sounds realistically like a child, which is no mean feat.” – Rochelle O’Gorman, Christian Science Monitor and the Berkshire Edge
Saxton has written a very strong and literary novel that quickly drew me in and kept me reading long into the night. PEREGRINE ISLAND is deep reading in that we really get to know the women in a powerful way. If you enjoy generational family history and interaction, this is a must-read. – Trudi LoPreto for Readers’ Favorite
“Scenes are vividly described; it is almost as if the reader is viewing a tableau. And it is in this vividness that the literary work is elevated to a work of art… I almost feel that it is from a bygone era when books were rare and the main form entertainment.” – Donna Huber, girl-who-reads.com
“A great read that had a distinct voice and plot. Saxton created characters that are multilayered and complex. I never really knew what to expect and was completely engaged the entire time. It was one of those reads that kept me on my toes. It was a richly woven novel about family and all its drama. A must read and one that will make a perfect book club pick.” – Emily Lewis, Mrs. Mommy Booknerd’s Book Reviews
“Complex and rich, PEREGRINE ISLAND… is a story where each character beautifully intertwines with the next, helping to create a narrative that is filled with art, mystery, family and life.” –Monet Timmons, BookTrib
“This is a beautifully written debut novel by Diane B. Saxton… an intriguing book filled with elements of family dysfunction, romance, and mystery.” –SuzyApproved.com
“As I read, I was reminded of the whodunits from the old days, where people would gather in the parlor to go over clues knowing that the guilty party was among them. The grand finale also holds to that style, and was not a disappointment.
“I highly recommend PEREGRINE ISLAND…for fans of murder mysteries. It would also make a great selection for a reader’s group. The author’s vivid descriptions and cast of eccentric characters are meant to be discussed and shared among others.” –Paige Lovitt, Reader Views
“PEREGRINE ISLAND… is a little like…Grey Gardens…meets Tennessee Williams.” –Nancie Clare, former editor of LA Times Magazine
“With a roster of carefully crafted characters and a deftly woven plot, PEREGRINE ISLAND is a riveting read from beginning to end and clearly showcases author Diane Saxton as a consummately skilled novelist. While highly recommended for community and academic library Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that PEREGRINE ISLAND is also available in a Kindle format.”
–James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review
“Stay away from PEREGRINE ISLAND, unless you want to be enchanted by a different kind of writer telling a different kind of story in a style that is as transporting as it is magical. I’d like to see Chloe Sevigny in the film version.”
—Lewis B. Frumkes, author of Advice for Young Writers; How to Raise Your IQ by Eating Gifted Children (among others) and host of the Lewis Burke Frumkes Show, WPAT–AM in New York
“I was immediately captivated by the salt-drenched air and nuanced beauty of PEREGRINE ISLAND. Inhabited by three generations of women—a spirited girl, a prodigal daughter, and a matriarch—haunted by a work of art, this story is reminiscent of the best of Daphne du Maurier. In lush prose, Diane B. Saxton reveals a family ripe with secrets on the cusp of discovering a tempestuous past. A lovely novel!”
—Katharine Davis, Author of Capturing Paris, A Slender Thread, and East Hope
“As the layers of mystery and history surrounding an heirloom painting are peeled back, a riveting drama fraught with accusations of greed and distrust, and laced with ripe passion, unfolds. PEREGRINE ISLAND is told through the eyes of three generations of family members, silently bound by their unflinching gazes and ultimately tender insights on the meaning of love and family, reaching across time and space, stripped down to their essence on the raw, blustery shores of the Sound.”
—Ann Volkwein, Author of The Arthur Avenue Cookbook and Chinatown New York
“The mystery of the painting and the revelations of the interrelated characters’ secrets resolve in a fully unexpected and romantic tale that becomes wonderfully complex and as deep as the sea…”
—Colin Harrington, poet (Asking Me To See), book reviewer
“A rich tale of lust and avarice, love and longing, Saxton’s novel is a beguiling page-turner. The story unfolds through the voices of its three related narrators, each with a unique temperament, each propelling the action to its mesmerizing conclusion. The book, at once a mystery and a love story, is nothing short of spellbinding.”
—Jean P. Moore, Author of Water on the Moon
“…Saxton keeps the reader guessing until the novel’s conclusion, which reveals the unexpected ways in which the two families are intertwined in the past as well as the present.”
—BookList
