Isle of Fright

A Trace Riker Adventure #1

by Shirley Bear Fedorak

Cloned dinosaurs, a penal colony turned cannibal, and shipwrecked trophy hunters. What could go wrong with such a mix?

Adventurer Trace Riker is charged with protecting wealthy hunters from the deadly dangers on the abandoned Isle of Wight when their yacht is destroyed during a superstorm.
Riker leads the survivors across the island, now a free-range penal colony, searching for a way to call for help. But a deranged geneticist has cloned dinosaurs and let them loose to wander the island. One by one his charges are picked off until he hatches a daring plan that might save them. Little do they know, the island is a testing ground for a diabolical plot that will have far-reaching consequences for Earth.

Isle of Fright is book 1 in the Trace Riker Adventures .

358 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2024

About the author

I began writing stories about horses when I was six years old, but only in my head. In high school I researched my paternal grandmother's life and turned it into a fictionalized biography. From then on I was hooked on writing. My inspiration for writing and my love of fiction comes from some of the science fiction greats, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein to name only two.

For most of my life I have lived in Saskatchewan, Canada but in 2006 my husband Robert and I moved to Cairo, Egypt where we taught at Cairo American College for five years. We then decided to retire to Mexico, but we had caught the international bug and moved to beautiful Beirut, Lebanon where Rob taught and I continued writing. We moved to Penang, Malaysia in 2016 and are living the good life.

I am a cultural anthropologist by profession. I have taught anthropology and other social sciences at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and Cairo American College. In 1999 a Canadian publisher asked me to write an anthropology textbook and I have been writing academic books ever since. My latest books are Anthropology Matters, 3rd ed. and Global Issues: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, published by University of Toronto Press.

Despite my success in academic writing, my passion is fiction. I decided to publish one of my YA series on Kindle Direct. The three stories in each book in the Footsteps series are set in the past, present, and future. Hopefully there will be about ten books in this series. Book I is called The Reluctant Pharaoh and Book II is called The Fearless Bedouin. I now have a spicy romance novel at the beta readers and I will soon submit it to agents and publishers. Wish me luck.

Reviews

[Robin Ginther-Venneri · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎉 "The Isle of Fright" by Shirley Bear Fedorak is a cool thriller that will keep you second-guessing with the twisty turns until the final pages! 📚🌴 Taking place on a mysterious island, the book expertly weaves together suspense, snarky characters, and adventure. Ms. Fedorak's writing always pulls me into her stories as she crafts a fun and engaging reading journey. If you're searching for a gripping mystery that will have you at the edge of your seat, #IsleOfFright is a must-read! #Thriller #Mystery 🔍💀 I can't wait for the next book in this series! Shirley Bear Fedorak's work is fantastic, and I highly recommend her and her books. 🙌✨

Isle of Wight, 2083
Climate change has destroyed most of the planet, and everyone lives in doomed cities.
What’s next is
A shipwreck
A mysterious island
Snarky characters
Oh, and—did I say dinosaurs?

Quotes
“You’re the guide on this venture, aren’t you?” Guide might be a stretch. “More like the hired gun charged with keeping you alive.”
“Thirty-four guests were on the yacht plus four crew. Three of the crew are accounted for, but many of the guests are missing.”
“Some of them likely never made it out of their cabins.” “We were the lucky ones,” Aden said. Or maybe the unlucky ones.
“He took a tally. Eleven survivors counting him.”
“Time for some tough love. He bent down to the little boy’s level. “Listen carefully, young man. There are no friendlies on this island. Neither beast nor human, except for us survivors from the yacht. Got that?”
“No one knows we’re here, Trevor. I assume all of you are aware that this ill-fated hunting expedition was illegal from the get-go.”

Book Series:
Isle of Fright Book One Trace Riker Adventure Series
Land of the Neanderthals Book Two Trace Riker Adventure Series
African Secrets Book Three Trace Riker Adventure Series

[Lucas W Mayberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Edge Of Your Seat Dystopian Adventure - Set 60 years in the future, Earth is a grim place to live with global warming causing acid rain and the air has grown poisonous with the lucky few living in domed cities including New Londonium, which is England today, and the Isle of Wight has been turned into a penal colony.
However when adventurer Trace Riker and some rich entitled people and their super yacht get shipwrecked on the island they discover they have more than convicts to contend with. Discovering a mad scientist has cloned dinosaurs and experimented on other animals and humans it’s a race against time and for their lives evading monsters, cannibals and mutants to get to the other side of the island so they can get rescued. However some people may not be all they seem and they must trust each other and use all their wits in order to survive. This is a brilliantly written and imaginative adventure story. I was hooked right from the start. As I’m from England I was naturally intrigued and maybe a little apprehensive about the state of the country in the future. I’ve been to the Isle of Wight a couple of times as well and so I know it is true that it is famous for it’s dinosaur bones and archeology digs so the future depicted in this book could be very plausible.

[Tamara Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I started this one thinking it’d be a fun little read on my lunch breaks but holy crap, I sank its teeth and claws into me and didn’t let go. Pun intended. It has Jurassic park vibes and reminds me a little of the Jurassic park book. It’s a solid read that I couldn’t put down and demanded reading. The post apocalyptic vibes mashed with Dino’s at the end of the world as we know it is great, the Dino’s are believable and I ended up rooting for the survivors and hoping they survive. I can’t wait to read the next book after this one and if you like dinosaurs 🦕 🦖 this one is an excellent read.

[BookObsessedMama Cheyenne Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. I love dinosaurs and Jurassic park movies and this gives all the right vibes even down to the evil DrWoo. Add in a shipwreck and rogue convicts already on the island and how can you not want to read it. There was a lot going on in the book so I had to pay close attention to who was speaking ex- but otherwise I would recommend this book and I can’t wait to see how the second book plays out after how this one ends!

[Monica Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jurassic park meets Lost. From the first scene I was hooked. The characters were diverse and different which made the story more interesting and fun to read. I would have loved a little more clarification at the beginning of what “Before” was and background to the expedition they were on. Can’t wait to read hopefully a sequel- I want to find out what happens to Dubois and if Sinclair was ever saved.

[Danny Bradbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Shirley Fedorak's Isle of Fright. It's an action-packed thriller set in the dystopian future where global warming has ruined the earth. A ship wrecked group must use their wits to survive on a remote island filled with dangers around every corner.

The Author does a great time using vivid imagery to place the reader in the scene and care for the characters. I highly recommend reading this novel.

[Tracey Gerrard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing sci-fi thriller!
I was engrossed in the Isle of Fright by Shirley Fedorak as it takes you on an explosive journey where the world is now suffering the effects of global warming. Dinosaurs, monsters, and more are running riot due to a mad scientist and Trace Ryker an adventurer along with a well-off party of hunters must now plan their escape from the remote island.
I really enjoyed this sci-fi thriller and will definitely be looking out for book 2.