The Navel of the World

by Kyle G. Roesler

The world was fascinated by the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. Most saw it as a mystery; Doug Carrington saw it as an opportunity. When a client wants to disappear from the face of the Earth, Doug hijacks an airplane bound from Los Angeles to Sydney, recreates the observables of MH370 to mislead investigators, and covertly lands on Easter Island to deplane and disappear. But Victor Lorca, rookie cop and native of the island, interrupts Doug and his team on the runway. Thus begins an across-island game of fight or flight. On land, in the sea and through the air they clash past volcanic peaks, mysterious caves and hundreds of the statues that make Easter Island famous, the moai. Victor is assisted by his best friend Jorge, a street dog named Loco and Jorge's beautiful twin sister Javiera (who has a secret crush on Victor). Through it all Victor is learning what it takes to be a good cop while slowly realizing he might, just might, have a love life.

184 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published May 1, 2017

About the author

The author Kyle G. Roesler began using the pseudonym Mary Jane when he was a freshman at Harvey Mudd College and started writing a weekly column for the student paper, "The Muddraker." Being a shy, reserved youth, he felt he would be more forthright using a pseudonym. Since 80% of the students were male, a woman's name garnered more attention. And, the name Mary Jane seemed nicely disreputable. The rest is a brief footnote in history. Kyle has gone on to write screenplays, stage plays, and four novels ("Fate," "Saba," "Keep Austin Weird" and "The Navel of the World," all in print on Amazon). He is probably the greatest living American writer no one has ever heard of.

Reviews

[Kyle Roesler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book. Of course, I wrote it, so I may be a little biased. I say, go ahead and try it out and let me know if I'm speaking the truth or not.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved learning more about Easter Island. The mystery was very involved. Bad guys and good guys changed alliances sometimes. I did not figure out the mystery before then end. To me, that makes a good mystery and keeps me guessing.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is part mystery or it could be classified as a novel. The Cop, Victor, has to keep solving the mystery of what these bad characters are up to on Easter Island. The story unfolds as the Cop is trying to stop them from killing people and getting away. There are several narrators to the story: the cop: Victor, the leader of the villains: Doug, and a homeless Dog: Loco. I like the dog by the way. I learned some history of Easter Island and great info of what to see and do there. I think this book should be mandatory reading for anyone traveling there. This book also made me think more about the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight 370.

Merged review:

I read this book before and did a review. Now there are two postings of this book so I'll say I read it here too.

[Adrian McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

_The Navel of the World_ is a fun action-thriller set in one of the most exotic locales I can imagine: Easter Island. Interesting characters drive the story of a terrorist plot-gone-wrong. It's vividly told through the eyes of many of the characters (including a lovable street dog named Loco). I'd say I can't wait to see the movie version, but the writing was so vivid, I feel like I already have. It's nice to see Roesler break into a new genre, and I look forward to his next thriller. Now I have to plan a vacation to see Easter Island.

[Craig Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good storyline

The storyline is very engaging. I especially liked the viewpoint of Loco the dog, but being written in first person could be confusing at the change of a chapter until you knew who was "talking". Overall an enjoyable read for adults.

[Steve Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this engaging, quirky mystery with lots of twists and surprises. I especially liked that there are several, alternating narrators -- it was fun to consider their differing perspectives as the story unfolded. As a bonus, I learned a lot about Easter Island. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in The Polynesian Adventure Series: A Moai Walks into a Tiki Bar.

[Craig C Purcell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read with an intriguing and engaging plot line told from multiple entertaining perspectives.