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Windmill Bluff
“Windmills, ghosts, psychiatric ward, uranium, domestic terrorism—rollicking and deep. Only Michael Hartnett.” –Joe Edd Morris, author of The Lost Page
The old psychiatric tower has been blown to bits, and FBI agents quickly determine that the suspect with the most plausible answers is a brilliant Robbie DeFonte, a young YouTube star whose family chronicles are steeped in the darker history of the sprawling mental facility. A massive wind farm erected around the ruined psychiatric center buildings becomes central to a lurid tale that transports back a century earlier to unearth a legacy of hidden weapons and lost lives.
As Robbie offers his testimony to Agent Chen, he reveals tunnels below the long-abandoned facility, a dead body found down there in a military uniform, and the toxic remnants of large-scale uranium shipments. Through the lives of his grandfather, the Colonel who ran both the psychiatric center and the elaborate munitions depot, and his grandmother, who uncovered many secrets as a young bride, Robbie spins a yarn that takes the reader back to FDR's clandestine programs and pushes ahead to a wind farm fraught with danger and hope.
Windmill Bluff is a masterful tale that mines America’s turbulent past to fuel its blustery future.
The old psychiatric tower has been blown to bits, and FBI agents quickly determine that the suspect with the most plausible answers is a brilliant Robbie DeFonte, a young YouTube star whose family chronicles are steeped in the darker history of the sprawling mental facility. A massive wind farm erected around the ruined psychiatric center buildings becomes central to a lurid tale that transports back a century earlier to unearth a legacy of hidden weapons and lost lives.
As Robbie offers his testimony to Agent Chen, he reveals tunnels below the long-abandoned facility, a dead body found down there in a military uniform, and the toxic remnants of large-scale uranium shipments. Through the lives of his grandfather, the Colonel who ran both the psychiatric center and the elaborate munitions depot, and his grandmother, who uncovered many secrets as a young bride, Robbie spins a yarn that takes the reader back to FDR's clandestine programs and pushes ahead to a wind farm fraught with danger and hope.
Windmill Bluff is a masterful tale that mines America’s turbulent past to fuel its blustery future.
313 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2024
20 people are currently reading
3490 people want to read
About the author
Michael Hartnett
47 books36 followersMichael Hartnett (Irish: Mícheál Ó hAirtnéide) was an Irish poet who wrote in both English and Irish. He was one of the most significant voices in late 20th-century Irish writing and has been called "Munster's de facto poet laureate".
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 2, 2025
I'm a fan of Michael Hartnett's work and have read all his books.
So far, my favorite ones where the "Tour Guide" books, The Blue Rat and its sequel.
However, Windmill Bluff is, hands down, his best work. After being in a reading slump for a couple of months I outright flew through this book. I couldn't put it down!
Windmill Bluff is a thriller mystery with a bit of horror, plenty of social commentary and, of course, Hartnett's unique humor and sense for bizarre events and characters.
There's a lot of history weaved into this book, which masterfully jumps between different times and events. The author's love for history and his sense of detail become very visible here.
It's very clear that Hartnett does a lot of research for his books. Despite being humorous and sometimes over the top, everything feels very real.
And, of course, the story is filled with an ensemble of quirky characters and witty dialogues.
This book gets my highest recommendation and I can't wait for Hartnett's next work!
So far, my favorite ones where the "Tour Guide" books, The Blue Rat and its sequel.
However, Windmill Bluff is, hands down, his best work. After being in a reading slump for a couple of months I outright flew through this book. I couldn't put it down!
Windmill Bluff is a thriller mystery with a bit of horror, plenty of social commentary and, of course, Hartnett's unique humor and sense for bizarre events and characters.
There's a lot of history weaved into this book, which masterfully jumps between different times and events. The author's love for history and his sense of detail become very visible here.
It's very clear that Hartnett does a lot of research for his books. Despite being humorous and sometimes over the top, everything feels very real.
And, of course, the story is filled with an ensemble of quirky characters and witty dialogues.
This book gets my highest recommendation and I can't wait for Hartnett's next work!
May 24, 2024
When was the last time you read an intriguing novel that included a wind turbine farm on a ruined Long Island psychiatric hospital grounds, secret tunnels beneath, a band of right-winged domestic terrorists, the FBI, a large uranium cache, cameos of a former mayor of NYC and Franklin Delano Roosevelt and all of it reminiscent in quality of Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom, Heller’s Catch 22, and Kafka’s The Trial? The literary genius of master storyteller Michael Hartnett hits the printed page again. On the surface, the story is a typical Hartnett rollicking farce. But beneath run deep philosophical/environmental/theological currents.
Story opens at the end, and proceeds fiendishly toward the beginning. I recall Sartre’s comment about reading Faulkner, like riding in a car looking through the rear window gazing in wonder at the past as it rushes by. A layered narrative with time frames shifting forward and backward, backward and forward, maintaining the thread of the story; kaleidoscopic plots and subplots, colorful and memorable characters created ex nihilo from Long Island cityscape. Stories within stories that will continue spinning in your mind like … well … windmills.
Story opens at the end, and proceeds fiendishly toward the beginning. I recall Sartre’s comment about reading Faulkner, like riding in a car looking through the rear window gazing in wonder at the past as it rushes by. A layered narrative with time frames shifting forward and backward, backward and forward, maintaining the thread of the story; kaleidoscopic plots and subplots, colorful and memorable characters created ex nihilo from Long Island cityscape. Stories within stories that will continue spinning in your mind like … well … windmills.
June 1, 2024
Hartnett takes the reader on a figurative roller coaster ride of the past and present, intermingling the two so that, as readers, we see an eerie tale of history repeating itself. Whether it be a historically acclaimed and popular president, such as FDR, or current day militant groups like the Coreskins, the human desire for attention and influence (as symbolized by the protagonist’s desire to be a YouTube celebrity) culminates into a deadly game of political maneuvering.
We are first introduced to the charismatic protagonist, Robbie DeFonte, a “smarter than he lets on” line cook at a NYC pub, who holds the answers to what the FBI is seeking. Throughout the novel readers are entertained by the comical banter between the loquacious Robbie and the impatient and frustrated Agent Chen who simply wants the answers to a few basic questions but who must endure a soliloquy of past events retold for Robbie’s (and the reader’s) amusement. Much like the banter between Verbal Kint and Detective Dave Kujan in The Usual Suspects, Robbie and Agent Chen serve as the frame for which richer characters and events are expounded upon.
The historical accuracy that Hartnett brings to the table is astounding as he has carefully researched the personal histories of popular politicians and the events they were involved in. As someone who has grown up on Long Island, I found the setting details to be highly realistic and believable. I often felt like I was listening to an older relative convey similar stories with similar facts. But the level of accuracy goes beyond the region of metropolitan NY as we are reminded of the good old days when Twinkies were once filled with banana custard but due to federal rationing during WWII, had to be replaced with vanilla crème.
If you enjoy psychological complex thrillers chock full of accurately depicted, recreated historical moments that are bound to stir up a sense of nostalgia, then I highly recommend Windmill Bluff. Add the comical machinations of Robbie, Cold Megan, the Colonel, and their exploits, and this is a winner for audiences on all levels.
We are first introduced to the charismatic protagonist, Robbie DeFonte, a “smarter than he lets on” line cook at a NYC pub, who holds the answers to what the FBI is seeking. Throughout the novel readers are entertained by the comical banter between the loquacious Robbie and the impatient and frustrated Agent Chen who simply wants the answers to a few basic questions but who must endure a soliloquy of past events retold for Robbie’s (and the reader’s) amusement. Much like the banter between Verbal Kint and Detective Dave Kujan in The Usual Suspects, Robbie and Agent Chen serve as the frame for which richer characters and events are expounded upon.
The historical accuracy that Hartnett brings to the table is astounding as he has carefully researched the personal histories of popular politicians and the events they were involved in. As someone who has grown up on Long Island, I found the setting details to be highly realistic and believable. I often felt like I was listening to an older relative convey similar stories with similar facts. But the level of accuracy goes beyond the region of metropolitan NY as we are reminded of the good old days when Twinkies were once filled with banana custard but due to federal rationing during WWII, had to be replaced with vanilla crème.
If you enjoy psychological complex thrillers chock full of accurately depicted, recreated historical moments that are bound to stir up a sense of nostalgia, then I highly recommend Windmill Bluff. Add the comical machinations of Robbie, Cold Megan, the Colonel, and their exploits, and this is a winner for audiences on all levels.
May 31, 2024
Michael Hartnett spins a comic satire with serious undertones that begins at the end, with a blast that demolishes a building in a wind farm on the expansive grounds of a former psychiatric hospital known as Queens Bluff. The blast of fun for the reader begins with the author’s choice of names for the two local anti-wind power groups that might have set off the explosion: the Windbreakers and the Coreskins.
Instead of either of the right-wing groups, the FBI believes that Robbie DeFonte, a quirky young YouTube performer whose family has owned the property for three generations, is the perpetrator. FBI Agent Lillian Chen is assigned to question Robbie, a task she finds intolerably frustrating because he insists on starting his narrative at the end and working slowly in reverse toward the beginning.
Robbie leads Chen reluctantly backwards 123 years and takes her through a parade of characters that includes President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a maze of secret tunnels, a stash of World War II land mines, and a pile of encased uranium. After five months of agonizing (for Chen) interrogation, Robbie reaches the beginning of his story in 1900 and the agent’s questions are finally answered.
Only a storyteller with the substantial skill of Michael Hartnett could successfully carry his characters (and his readers) through a reverse maze of memories and mishaps in this manner. With time frames and characters’ ages shifting both backwards and forwards throughout the book, Hartnett keeps the plots and subplots spinning like the blades of the windmills that surround the scene. Whichever way the story is moving at the time, every chapter keeps the reader traveling toward additional pleasure.
June 3, 2024
I have been a fan of Michael Hartnett for a while now, and Windmill Bluff may be his best novel to date. The story begins after a huge explosion destroys a large building on the grounds of an abandoned psychiatric institution in Queens Bluff, New York. An FBI agent questions longtime resident Robbie DeFonte, who she suspects knows more about the incident than anyone in the small town. FBI agent Lisa Chen soon regrets the assignment because DeFonte insists that to understand why the explosion happened, you need to know the history of Queens Bluff, the old windmill near the new wind turbine, and his family history. Hartnett creates a myriad of characters, connected to events, both past and present, that lead to the unfolding of the town's mystery. There is The Colonel, DeFonte’s grandfather, who we learn was once mayor of New York City for a short time, and had some interesting political connections. His widow, Cold Megan, is DeFonte’s grandmother. She lives on the top floor of the old windmill. DeFonte has taken care of his grandmother since his parents died. As the FBI discovers a stash of weapons of mass destruction digging around the blast area, DeFonte reveals more about his family’s past, the secrets of the old windmill, and how the new wind turbine came to be. Hartnett is good at developing characters with colorful names like Cold Megan, The Colonel, DeFonte’s girlfriend Willow, and a crazy right-wing group called the Coreskins. There is a rich, historical backstory with The Colonel's connection to FDR that will delight the reader. Like the peeling of an onion, the history of each character is revealed with humor, and pathos. Windmill Bluff is a tour-de-force of great storytelling, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
July 15, 2024
I know one should never judge a book by its cover, but my love for Michael Hartnett's book Windmill Bluff truly began when I first saw the front cover. The combination of the stark photos of the old windmill next to a modern wind turbine and the unusual title piqued my interest, and I felt compelled to turn the book over to read the description on the back cover. There, I found an intriguing collection of seemingly incongruous elements – an abandoned mental facility, a discovered body in uniform, tunnels, terrorism, FDR, uranium, and a wind farm – and I was helpless to open the book and find out how they all were connected.
The main character, Robbie DeFonte, has a story to tell to the FBI, and, like many of us, he needs to tell it in his way and in his time. And like all good stories, there are backstories that require revealing. Robbie has, to reference Donkey from Shrek, an onion with quite a few layers to peel. As a reader, I became more obsessed with following the yarn that Robbie was spinning, going deeper and deeper into the tunnels that lay below the surface. The thing I admire about Michael Hartnett's writing style, which I first discovered in his earlier book, Blue Rat, is that, as I read the story and came across unbelievable details and hopped online to fact-check them (Yep, I'm that kind of reader!), they were shockingly mostly true. The author weaves fact and fiction so seamlessly, you are left with images that really stick with you. In an age when we experience everything and forget them as quickly as we discovered them, there is something to the writings of Michael Hartnett that demand to be remembered, retained, and held. Windmill Bluff will be a book that stays in my heart for quite a while.
The main character, Robbie DeFonte, has a story to tell to the FBI, and, like many of us, he needs to tell it in his way and in his time. And like all good stories, there are backstories that require revealing. Robbie has, to reference Donkey from Shrek, an onion with quite a few layers to peel. As a reader, I became more obsessed with following the yarn that Robbie was spinning, going deeper and deeper into the tunnels that lay below the surface. The thing I admire about Michael Hartnett's writing style, which I first discovered in his earlier book, Blue Rat, is that, as I read the story and came across unbelievable details and hopped online to fact-check them (Yep, I'm that kind of reader!), they were shockingly mostly true. The author weaves fact and fiction so seamlessly, you are left with images that really stick with you. In an age when we experience everything and forget them as quickly as we discovered them, there is something to the writings of Michael Hartnett that demand to be remembered, retained, and held. Windmill Bluff will be a book that stays in my heart for quite a while.
June 16, 2024
Windmill Bluff is a many-layered, meandering tale told through the testimony and records of a YouTuber/line cook, a charmingly charismatic young man considered to be an unreliable narrator by the supporting characters. Like Quixote’s hero, Robbie DeFonte 'tilts at windmills', although this 21st-century hero hurls pumpkins rather than jousting, and does battle with wind turbines in pursuit of his five minutes of Internet notoriety. After an explosion on the grounds of an abandoned psychiatric institution in Queens Bluff, New York, our intrepid protagonist is questioned by the FBI and insists that the key to uncovering the genesis of the crime lies in understanding the history of his family. The telling of this history will test the will of Agent Lisa Chen and take the reader on a high-octane journey zigzagging between past and present. With a cast of quirky characters ranging from the corn syrup-guzzling windmill 'keeper' to a gullible right-wing group called the Coreskins, and a town populated with DeFonte’s lifelong acquaintances, including his girlfriend (and possible relative) Willow, Hartnett keeps the reader turning pages and chuckling aloud long after the story ends. Knitting together Robbie’s present escapades and compelling backstories of his family and
their ties to the town’s psychiatric institution is a cleverly developed mystery involving FDR himself. Windmill Bluff is a social satire that sheds light on traditional versus green energy, viral misinformation, white supremacy, and more, yet it is also a novel with heart, leaving us rooting for our Quixotic antihero and hoping for a sequel.
their ties to the town’s psychiatric institution is a cleverly developed mystery involving FDR himself. Windmill Bluff is a social satire that sheds light on traditional versus green energy, viral misinformation, white supremacy, and more, yet it is also a novel with heart, leaving us rooting for our Quixotic antihero and hoping for a sequel.
June 3, 2024
Delightfully Wacky, Clever and Backward Journey
In Queens Bluff, the inmates are in charge of the asylum, or town, if you prefer. Have been since the psychiatric patients were released en masse. Now they and their equally wonky descendants are running the clown show. That is, they were until their exploits attracted the attention of the FBI. Now agent Lillian Chen is endeavoring to learn vital information about something hidden up on the bluff, somewhere within the big windfarm with that one original Dutch-style mill and all the new wind turbines, from an extremely exasperating Robbie DeFonte. He’s insisting on telling the story backwards, with each foray into the past revealing new clues.
Hartnett’s ingenious story smacks of A Confederacy of Dunces, with a sprinkling of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but is mainly the product of Hartnett’s prodigious imagination and mind-bending writing. His alluring imagery paints an artwork equal to those he describes in the chapter set in the Met. The characters are at once layered, eccentric and comic, from The Colonel who was a cohort of FDR, the fifteen-year-old inmate he courts and eventually weds, to a group of incompetent and doltish white supremacists, to Robbie himself. As the story hop, skips and jumps through time, we get to see this wonderful cast evolve and change as mystery after mystery is revealed.
In a novel that defies categorization, Hartnett reveals himself to be a true master of his craft. If you’re a fan of smart, madcap yarns, do not miss Windmill Bluff!
In Queens Bluff, the inmates are in charge of the asylum, or town, if you prefer. Have been since the psychiatric patients were released en masse. Now they and their equally wonky descendants are running the clown show. That is, they were until their exploits attracted the attention of the FBI. Now agent Lillian Chen is endeavoring to learn vital information about something hidden up on the bluff, somewhere within the big windfarm with that one original Dutch-style mill and all the new wind turbines, from an extremely exasperating Robbie DeFonte. He’s insisting on telling the story backwards, with each foray into the past revealing new clues.
Hartnett’s ingenious story smacks of A Confederacy of Dunces, with a sprinkling of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but is mainly the product of Hartnett’s prodigious imagination and mind-bending writing. His alluring imagery paints an artwork equal to those he describes in the chapter set in the Met. The characters are at once layered, eccentric and comic, from The Colonel who was a cohort of FDR, the fifteen-year-old inmate he courts and eventually weds, to a group of incompetent and doltish white supremacists, to Robbie himself. As the story hop, skips and jumps through time, we get to see this wonderful cast evolve and change as mystery after mystery is revealed.
In a novel that defies categorization, Hartnett reveals himself to be a true master of his craft. If you’re a fan of smart, madcap yarns, do not miss Windmill Bluff!
June 10, 2025
This book was first reviewed on Kurt's Frontier.
Synopsis:
When a windmill is destroyed, FBI Agent Chen discovers that the most likely person with the answers, if not a suspect himself, is the young YouTube star, Robbie DeFonte. The ruin of the psychiatric center now houses a massive wind farm. Through her interviews with Robbie DeFonte, Agent Chen begins to peel back the layers of the site’s history. Beneath the complex, within the tunnels, lies a body in a military uniform, the toxic remnants of uranium storage, and an elaborate munitions depot. Robbie recounts how his grandfather, the Colonel, managed both the psychiatric center and munitions depot, and how his grandmother uncovered the secrets as a young bride.
Review:
Through Robbie Defonte, Michael Hartnett takes the reader on a journey through the history of Windmill Bluff, a psychiatric facility that has been transformed into a windmill farm. The timeline shifts from the present day to 1900, but not in a linear fashion. As Robbie narrates the tale to Agent Chen, one gets the impression that Robbie’s mind does not function like the average person’s. This nonlinear progression can try the reader’s patience unless they perceive the story as peeling away in layers: from the terrorist attack on the windmill, to Robbie’s grandmother poisoning the Colonel, to a clandestine element added to the center for President FDR, to the Colonel taking over the facility after serving as mayor of New York. Michael Hartnett’s attention to detail enhances the historical dimension of the story.
Synopsis:
When a windmill is destroyed, FBI Agent Chen discovers that the most likely person with the answers, if not a suspect himself, is the young YouTube star, Robbie DeFonte. The ruin of the psychiatric center now houses a massive wind farm. Through her interviews with Robbie DeFonte, Agent Chen begins to peel back the layers of the site’s history. Beneath the complex, within the tunnels, lies a body in a military uniform, the toxic remnants of uranium storage, and an elaborate munitions depot. Robbie recounts how his grandfather, the Colonel, managed both the psychiatric center and munitions depot, and how his grandmother uncovered the secrets as a young bride.
Review:
Through Robbie Defonte, Michael Hartnett takes the reader on a journey through the history of Windmill Bluff, a psychiatric facility that has been transformed into a windmill farm. The timeline shifts from the present day to 1900, but not in a linear fashion. As Robbie narrates the tale to Agent Chen, one gets the impression that Robbie’s mind does not function like the average person’s. This nonlinear progression can try the reader’s patience unless they perceive the story as peeling away in layers: from the terrorist attack on the windmill, to Robbie’s grandmother poisoning the Colonel, to a clandestine element added to the center for President FDR, to the Colonel taking over the facility after serving as mayor of New York. Michael Hartnett’s attention to detail enhances the historical dimension of the story.
April 19, 2024
When FBI agent Chen begins to interview wannabe You Tube star Robbie DeFonte for his role in a domestic terrorist explosion in an abandoned psychiatric hospital that now is a windmill farm, she gets far more than she bargains for. Nothing is as it had seemed. Robbie is willing to tell all, but only on his terms and in his own time. Can there be any truth to what he says? As crazy as it all sounds, his grandfather did run the facilities for decades. And his grandmother, Cold Megan, is the only living eyewitness.
The case is not straightforward at all. It’s not just about the explosion or the white terrorist group’s determination to destroy the wind farm. It goes way back—all the way to the 1920s and how the facilities were used as clandestine arms storage. Even Franklin D. Roosevelt is involved.
“Windmill Bluff” by Michael Hartnett is a complex and compelling tale that pulled me in from the first page and kept me going until the end. Despite the somber theme of the book, the writing was the wittiest I’ve seen in a long, long time. I pushed ahead to finish because I really wanted to know the secrets Robbie was keeping, but I plan to reread the book again soon, and this time to savor every word. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this incredible book. I can’t wait to read more by this author. My opinions are my own.
The case is not straightforward at all. It’s not just about the explosion or the white terrorist group’s determination to destroy the wind farm. It goes way back—all the way to the 1920s and how the facilities were used as clandestine arms storage. Even Franklin D. Roosevelt is involved.
“Windmill Bluff” by Michael Hartnett is a complex and compelling tale that pulled me in from the first page and kept me going until the end. Despite the somber theme of the book, the writing was the wittiest I’ve seen in a long, long time. I pushed ahead to finish because I really wanted to know the secrets Robbie was keeping, but I plan to reread the book again soon, and this time to savor every word. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this incredible book. I can’t wait to read more by this author. My opinions are my own.
July 13, 2024
I just finished Michael Hartnett’s latest novel, ‘Windmill Bluff.’ Harnett is one of my favorite authors and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, it’s impossible to be disappointed with one of his books. ‘Windmill Bluff,’ as expected, is a winner.
Hartnett is famous for his eccentric plots and quirky characters, and ‘Windmill Bluff’ had a doozy plot and the quirkiest of quirky characters.
The novel’s main setting is a shutdown mental institution that for most of its existence was run by a man nicknamed the colonel. Beside the colonel, the book is speckled with a host of peculiar characters.
The plot encompasses the 1920s all the way to modern times. A terrorist act has taken place at the mental institution, and a female FBI agent is sent to the place to interview the colonel’s grandson, the quirkiest character of all, and learn who was behind the terrorist bombing.
Readers learn that the grounds of what had been the mental institution had become the site of a detested windmill farm and a terrorist group was secretly formed to bomb a windmill. The grandson leads the FBI agent through an Alice in Wonderland-like tale where the reader learns about all the crazy characters who called this mental institution home.
By the end of the novel, I was enjoying it so much I really didn’t want to get to the last page.
Hartnett is famous for his eccentric plots and quirky characters, and ‘Windmill Bluff’ had a doozy plot and the quirkiest of quirky characters.
The novel’s main setting is a shutdown mental institution that for most of its existence was run by a man nicknamed the colonel. Beside the colonel, the book is speckled with a host of peculiar characters.
The plot encompasses the 1920s all the way to modern times. A terrorist act has taken place at the mental institution, and a female FBI agent is sent to the place to interview the colonel’s grandson, the quirkiest character of all, and learn who was behind the terrorist bombing.
Readers learn that the grounds of what had been the mental institution had become the site of a detested windmill farm and a terrorist group was secretly formed to bomb a windmill. The grandson leads the FBI agent through an Alice in Wonderland-like tale where the reader learns about all the crazy characters who called this mental institution home.
By the end of the novel, I was enjoying it so much I really didn’t want to get to the last page.
May 30, 2024
Windmill Bluff is the first novel I have read from Michael Hartnett. I was aware he writes clean simple stories complicated with many layers. He did not disappoint here. When you are done you may feel you read more than one novel.
This story follows a young man’s account, Robbie Defonte, of everything he knows and it's backdrop is a psychiatric hospital that has been shut down and abandoned for some time until a wind turbine farm is built on the grounds.
It seems everyone is or could use the help of that psychiatric hospital as we wind our way back and forth through the history of the grounds. At times I wondered if I was stuck in an insane asylum with the others or perhaps stuck in the mind of one crazy person, but the characters in Windmill Bluff are endearing and ones you will want to root for.
Hartnett uses eloquent prose to bring the reader in for a closer look, seldomly telling you everything all at once, much like our protagonist Robbie. His lack of description at times was purposeful and it works.
I encourage you to give this story a read, but give it your full attention so you do not miss anything. There is plenty there. I give this story five turbines. Well done.
This story follows a young man’s account, Robbie Defonte, of everything he knows and it's backdrop is a psychiatric hospital that has been shut down and abandoned for some time until a wind turbine farm is built on the grounds.
It seems everyone is or could use the help of that psychiatric hospital as we wind our way back and forth through the history of the grounds. At times I wondered if I was stuck in an insane asylum with the others or perhaps stuck in the mind of one crazy person, but the characters in Windmill Bluff are endearing and ones you will want to root for.
Hartnett uses eloquent prose to bring the reader in for a closer look, seldomly telling you everything all at once, much like our protagonist Robbie. His lack of description at times was purposeful and it works.
I encourage you to give this story a read, but give it your full attention so you do not miss anything. There is plenty there. I give this story five turbines. Well done.
May 23, 2024
A tour de force of fun and wonderment!
Michael Hartnett is a genius when it comes to characterization and plot, and his latest work, The Windmill Bluff, does not disappoint. In fact, it is nothing less than a tour de force of fun and wonderment.
Robbie DeFonte is under suspicion as the perpetrator of a massive explosion at one of the buildings in the town’s old abandoned psychiatric center, which has been converted into a wind-turbine farm. But he is not one to cooperate with the authorities, particularly FBI agent Lillian Chen, who tries mightily to wrest the facts from him—quickly. Despite her efforts, Robbie is having none of it, and won’t respond directly to questions. Instead, he insists on telling his story, which is nothing less than generational—and hilarious.
As he unfolds the story, you will meet “The Colonel,” Cold Megan, Robbie’s substitute girlfriend Linda, and heiress and turbine repair specialist Maeve Magill, among many other memorable characters. I won’t say more about the plot, other than to say you will be laughing with each twist and turn.
A great read. Highly recommended.
Michael Hartnett is a genius when it comes to characterization and plot, and his latest work, The Windmill Bluff, does not disappoint. In fact, it is nothing less than a tour de force of fun and wonderment.
Robbie DeFonte is under suspicion as the perpetrator of a massive explosion at one of the buildings in the town’s old abandoned psychiatric center, which has been converted into a wind-turbine farm. But he is not one to cooperate with the authorities, particularly FBI agent Lillian Chen, who tries mightily to wrest the facts from him—quickly. Despite her efforts, Robbie is having none of it, and won’t respond directly to questions. Instead, he insists on telling his story, which is nothing less than generational—and hilarious.
As he unfolds the story, you will meet “The Colonel,” Cold Megan, Robbie’s substitute girlfriend Linda, and heiress and turbine repair specialist Maeve Magill, among many other memorable characters. I won’t say more about the plot, other than to say you will be laughing with each twist and turn.
A great read. Highly recommended.
June 13, 2024
Welcome to the town of Queens Bluff, home of the legendary psychiatric hospital run by the stately gentlemen known as the Colonel, even though he never served in the military. The hospital has closed and in its place is a windmill farm. And some of the of the odd Queens Bluff residents are not very happy about it. That leaves an unlikely hero named Robbie DeFonte to stop the bad guys trying to destroy the farm. Is Robbie, the grandson of the Colonel, a genius or insane? Is his plot designed to protect the farm or simply to boost his YouTube channel? Does he have the answers the FBI is desperately seeking, or does he just like the sound of his own voice?
It is up to long-suffering Special Agent Lillian Chen to find out, and Robbie, with his meandering tales, is not going to make it easy. In this new novel by Michael Hartnett the reader encounters quirky characters, lesser-known WWII history, burning questions, an interesting jumble of a story and the author’s brilliant way with words. Just like Agent Chen, you may be confused at times. But through Hartnett, Robbie will keep it interesting.
It is up to long-suffering Special Agent Lillian Chen to find out, and Robbie, with his meandering tales, is not going to make it easy. In this new novel by Michael Hartnett the reader encounters quirky characters, lesser-known WWII history, burning questions, an interesting jumble of a story and the author’s brilliant way with words. Just like Agent Chen, you may be confused at times. But through Hartnett, Robbie will keep it interesting.
May 17, 2025
Part gonzo, Thompson-esque caper, part funhouse mirror historical fiction, The Windmill Bluff is the kind of sharp satire that reminds me of the wonderful, offbeat books my high school AP English teacher shared on her “summer enrichment reading” list. Is our protagonist Robbie a canny amateur undercover agent or an attention-seeking nutjob? Is his substitute girlfriend Willow actually his second cousin? Will the Neonazi Coreskins break their solemn oaths not to give into self-gratification temptation? Why does Maeve only eat foods containing high fructose corn syrup? And what does all of this have to do with the body buried in the tunnels under the old insane asylum? So many silly questions that bit by bit unveil the theme of this story – that the secrets and prejudices of our personal and collective history create unseen currents rippling through our lives. Under a less skillful author, the backwards looking narrative structure and quirky characters could make for a tough read, but somehow Hartnett’s narrative draws the reader forward at a breakneck pace. It’s only after you exit the rollercoaster that you realize the depth of the ride. I just simply loved this book.
June 25, 2025
I very much enjoyed The Blue Rat and Blue Gowanus, two of Michael Hartnett’s earlier books. So, I was eager to dig into Windmill Bluff. I was not disappointed.
While Windmill Bluff is similar to the previous books in that the plot is inventive, the writing is a joy to read, and the story is full of the kind of quirky characters that I find fascinating. But with Windmill Bluff, Hartnett has raised his game. His usual easy humor permeates the story, but there are also moments of longing and loss that add emotional depth. I was reminded of John Irving.
Much of the story is told in reverse order and this unusual narrative structure provides a powerful reminder of how our lives are entangled with our histories and that of our families.
Windmill Bluff has cemented Hartnett as one of my favorite authors and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
While Windmill Bluff is similar to the previous books in that the plot is inventive, the writing is a joy to read, and the story is full of the kind of quirky characters that I find fascinating. But with Windmill Bluff, Hartnett has raised his game. His usual easy humor permeates the story, but there are also moments of longing and loss that add emotional depth. I was reminded of John Irving.
Much of the story is told in reverse order and this unusual narrative structure provides a powerful reminder of how our lives are entangled with our histories and that of our families.
Windmill Bluff has cemented Hartnett as one of my favorite authors and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
April 15, 2024
Every writer knows a good story is made up of a beginning, a middle, and an end...right? Leave it to Michael Hartnett to demonstrate that a great story can have an end, a middle, and a beginning!
Strap in for Hartnett's wild ride as he whips readers from present-day white supremacist groups with terrorist intent to WWII munitions shenanigans dreamed up by FDR himself. The plot is simple, but the reveal is as layered as the old Colonel who ran the psychiatric hospital before it became a wind farm.
Michael Hartnett wields satire like Carl Hiassen and humor like Jonas Jonasson--all while delivering a historical fiction-turned-suspense novel unlike anything currently published. Five Stars!
Strap in for Hartnett's wild ride as he whips readers from present-day white supremacist groups with terrorist intent to WWII munitions shenanigans dreamed up by FDR himself. The plot is simple, but the reveal is as layered as the old Colonel who ran the psychiatric hospital before it became a wind farm.
Michael Hartnett wields satire like Carl Hiassen and humor like Jonas Jonasson--all while delivering a historical fiction-turned-suspense novel unlike anything currently published. Five Stars!
May 31, 2024
Michael Hartnett delivers a thought-provoking drama full of intrigue and deception. In an expertly crafted take on man vs. machine, Hartnett transports us to a dynamic time in New York City, opening our eyes to a world of historical significance and modern frustrations. With his incredible talent to blend fact and fiction, Hartnett delivers a tale of romantic interludes, political savvy, and investigative prowess as only he can. Much like the story itself, Windmill Bluff will take the reader on an emotional roller-coaster, only to leave them wondering if there is something more hidden beneath the tunnels.
This is my fourth read of Michael Hartnett’s books, and I am looking forward to his next!
This is my fourth read of Michael Hartnett’s books, and I am looking forward to his next!
June 3, 2024
A history spanning more than a century and ending in the early 2020s, this book will resonate with those who have an interest in the past and how it is reflected by the present, not necessarily in a good way. At the center of it is a Long Island property that has been a psychiatric center and a wind farm, as well as having secret storage areas that only come to light during social media star Robbie's testimony to FBI Agent Chen. Robbie's grandfather, known as the Colonel, was a close friend of President Roosevelt, and as the owner of the psychiatric center he helped FDR with some of his nefarious schemes. Other dicey characters include Cold Megan, the much younger wife of the Colonel who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. A page-turner that will keep you reading.
September 16, 2024
Michael Hartnett’s Windmill Bluff focuses on an ongoing police interview with a “key witness.” Exactly what they are witness to is gradually revealed in a complex, interlocking back story that involves, along the way, corruption, tragedy (in the true sense), and the kind of white supremacist militancy that seems to periodically erupt and re-erupt. In the center of it all is a psychiatric center, corrupt and crumbling, a stage for the main story and sub-plots that span more than a century of U.S. history. Oh, and there are windmills, "churning engines of the apocalypse," both as energy producers and symbolic lightning rods. The mood is reminiscent of the early films of Guillermo del Toro: alternately comedic, surreal, and sinister. Recommended.
July 28, 2024
Michael Hartnett's "Windmill Bluff" takes readers on a whirlwind ride of past and present, taking on a windmill, wind turbine, and a windy protagonist, Robbie DeFonte, who is an unreliable character who spins stories to the FBI that create humor and suspense. Most of the activity occurs at an old psychiatric hospital run by a man called the Colonel, who has a few issues to deal with, including secret uranium stockpiles, machine guns, and a few crazies who populate the place. Throw in terrorists, encounters with President Franklin Roosevelt, and a skeptical FBI agent, and you have a hilarious novel that only Hartnett could craft. It all ties in together in a weird and delightful sort of way.
June 6, 2025
Michael Hartnett's Windmill Bluff is breathtaking. The writing, the rich characters, the ebb and flow of action. Everything about the book oozes a kind of relentlessness, windmill blades turning all the time, at once ignoring and defining everyone's lives in the small strange town populated almost entirely by former mental patients and their caregivers. Even the ending, which seemed shockingly flat, was just another turn of the blades. Throughout the book there is a sweet mix of sadness and humor that few besides Richard Russo can pull off. Russo, you have met your match!
May 23, 2024
The best historical fiction makes one ask, “Did that really happen?” In the case of Windmill Bluff, the answer for me was, let me check! Author Michael Hartnett delivers a quirky, engaging chronicle of a WWII psychiatric facility in a small town filled with eccentric characters and a past no one can escape. Crisp, clear writing and a unique approach to timelines make Windmill Bluff a fun read that informs while it entertains. Definitely recommend!
May 27, 2024
Unique novel
This well-written novel is a unique blend of satire about the modern preoccupation with social media; the century-old history of the family; and our current political climate - a fertile soul for extremists without a cause.
It is also a suspenseful investigation story that keeps you turning pages until the very end.
This well-written novel is a unique blend of satire about the modern preoccupation with social media; the century-old history of the family; and our current political climate - a fertile soul for extremists without a cause.
It is also a suspenseful investigation story that keeps you turning pages until the very end.
May 29, 2024
When an FBI agent interviews wannabe YouTube star Robbie DeFonte, she gets more than anyone expected. In this unique and suspenseful historical fiction, told sideways and backward, nothing is as it seems. Unable to discern fact from fiction, truth from lies, it is a complex tale of wit and gullibility that connects to our world of internet sensationalism and fake news.
July 3, 2024
I went into Windmill Bluff expecting an eco-terrorism thriller with humor sprinkled through. It's so much more than that. What I got was a John-Irving-esque story with quirky characters spanning seven decades. Its nonlinear approach sucked me in and entertained me while keeping me guessing to the end.
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July 12, 2024could not get interessted. Did not get past a few chapters. Too many descriptivewords.
October 1, 2025
This book was not what I was expecting. The story did "wrap up" well, but I didn't find the book engaging. This may be because of the reserve timeline. Agent Chen needed a stronger presence to be more relatable and interesting. I would have liked to have had more of Cole Megan's perspective in the current timeline. The only character that had any depth was the Colonel. That being said, I think this could make an intriguing film or mini-series. It could be visually appealing. This could have been a great story but it fell flat for me.
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