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The Four Corners of the Sky
In small towns between the North Carolina Piedmont and the coast the best scenery is often in the sky. On flat sweeps of red clay and scrub pine the days move monotonously, safely, but above, in the blink of an eye, dangerous clouds can boil out of all four corners of the sky…The flat slow land starts to shiver and anything can happen. In such a storm, on Annie Peregrine's seventh birthday, her father gave her the airplane and minutes later drove out of her life.
Twenty years is a long time to be without a father, and, for Navy pilot Annie Peregrine-Goode, the sky has become a home the earth has never been. So when her father calls out of the blue to ask for a dying wish; one both absurd and mysterious, no is the easiest of answers. Until she hears that the reward is the one thing she always wanted …
Thus begins an enchanting novel that bursts with energy from the first pages, and sweeps you off on a journey of unforgettable characters, hilarious encounters, and haunting secrets.
The Four Corners of the Sky is master storyteller Michael Malone's new novel of love, secrets, and the mysterious bonds of families. Malone brings characters to life as only he can, exploring the questions that defy easy answers:
Is love a choice or a calling?
Why do the ties of family bind so tightly?
And is forgiveness a gift to others…or a gift we give ourselves?
544 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2009
158 people are currently reading
1887 people want to read
About the author
Michael Malone
82 books205 followersMichael Malone was the author of ten novels, a collection of short stories, and two works of nonfiction. Educated at Carolina and at Harvard, he was a professor in Theater Studies at Duke University. Among his prizes are the Edgar, the O. Henry, the Writers Guild Award, and the Emmy. He lived in Hillsborough, North Carolina, with his wife.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 634 reviews
July 1, 2013
Why, oh why, do I insist on finishing books I have started? I have put a few down over the years, but I really don't do it often enough. There are too many good books for me to be spending time on ones that are not. I usually have a reason in my mind for finishing (other than my OCD tendencies). This time, I finished the book because it was Union County library's Big Read. However, I did not participate in any opportunities, so it really wasn't a shared reading experience for me at all. It seemed like it took place in North Carolina, so that had some initial appeal for me, but it ended up a wild goose chase across numerous states.
As for the book, I felt like it went on and on, was unrealistic, and didn't develop the characters enough for me to care much about them. I think I was somewhat supposed to like Jack and be cheering for him in his illegal activities. However, he disgusted me as to how he abandoned his daughter and then continued to use her through the crux of this book for his own purposes. He didn't love anyone but himself.
All that to say, not on my list of recommendations - for sure not.
As for the book, I felt like it went on and on, was unrealistic, and didn't develop the characters enough for me to care much about them. I think I was somewhat supposed to like Jack and be cheering for him in his illegal activities. However, he disgusted me as to how he abandoned his daughter and then continued to use her through the crux of this book for his own purposes. He didn't love anyone but himself.
All that to say, not on my list of recommendations - for sure not.
January 7, 2011
Enjoyable but too long. Needed a really good edit... I think about 150 pages could easily have been ditched. Having said that, I enjoyed the tone of this book and the style of humor. This book was a "dramady", which I realized that I generally enjoy overall in both books and movies--it keeps the drama from getting too weighty and the comedy from getting too goofy. This book was well-balanced in that way. There were a couple characters that I found tedious though, and the parts of the plot involving the details of the father's cons I also found tedious. But I liked the little touches such as the Wizard of Oz references, and the unusual and unconventional family and friends the lead character had. I also liked how this book conveyed that even majorly imperfect family members (like the lead character's absent father) can have a large impact on someone's life.
August 22, 2012
I am determined to finish this book, but it's SO repetative! We get it, we know the characters, stop repeating their angst and issues and get to the point!
January 9, 2013
My head really wants to give this four stars...but my heart won't let me do it. The story is entertaining; the characters are engaging. Annie Peregrine Goode, abandoned by her con-man father at the age of 7 and now a Top Gun Navy pilot, is contacted by him twenty years later as he claims to be dying and in need of her help. She agrees to do so if he will finally admit to her the name of her mother, listed on her birth certificate as Claudette Colbert. This leads her on a mad chase to St. Louis, Miami, and Cuba as she tries mightily to keep her father from either being killed by mobsters or taken to prison by Miami Vice. Supporting her from the family home in North Carolina are Sam and Clark, the aunt & "uncle" who raised her (a platonic live-in couple who've been friends since childhood), her next-door neighbor best friend Georgette, and the wounded Vietnam vet D.K., who taught her how to fly. Showing up intermittently, like the lost puppy you can't get to stop following you around, is her unfaithful almost-ex-husband, Brad. Popping up along the way are loads of other colorful characters.
Annie's present-day chase is interwoven with reminiscences by all the various characters--scenes of Annie growing up, during her years on the run with her dad as well as her development into a serious, straight-laced, over-achiever; scenes of the dark childhood secrets held by her father and aunt; scenes of her dad, aunt, uncle, and the neighbors as teenagers and as adults. While these various scenes certainly deepen the story and provide enlightenment on character motivation, eventually it just becomes too much, particularly the multitude of examples of how Annie pushed herself to succeed as a teen. After awhile, they're not really telling you something you haven't already figured out, so they just serve to slow the story down. (the ones that do tell you something new, generally non-Annie related, are great) To some extent, the same is true of the present day scenes with Brad--he shows up, tail wagging, gets pushed away by Annie, then gets distracted by some pretty girl ("Squirrel!") and pants away to later call Sam or Georgette to whine about Annie in his continued clueless manner. While these do provide some comic relief, again it just becomes too much. Same thing with the nearly unendurable, Shakespeare-laced, philosophical ramblings of her father's con partner, Raffy. They start off amusing, quickly become painful in an empathetic, "Ok, I get how Annie's feeling, having to listen to this" sort of way, then just become purely torturous.
Because of all that, I could never quite lose myself in the story, could never quite form the deep emotional connection that I wanted to form with the characters. So, while I could enjoy the story for what it was, appreciate the depth of the final con as it is revealed, and be happy for Annie's final ending, I didn't get that deep-down satisfaction that comes from finishing a well-told story. I think if we could just lose about 100 pages of the too much, this would certainly be a four star, and possibly even a five star, book.
Annie's present-day chase is interwoven with reminiscences by all the various characters--scenes of Annie growing up, during her years on the run with her dad as well as her development into a serious, straight-laced, over-achiever; scenes of the dark childhood secrets held by her father and aunt; scenes of her dad, aunt, uncle, and the neighbors as teenagers and as adults. While these various scenes certainly deepen the story and provide enlightenment on character motivation, eventually it just becomes too much, particularly the multitude of examples of how Annie pushed herself to succeed as a teen. After awhile, they're not really telling you something you haven't already figured out, so they just serve to slow the story down. (the ones that do tell you something new, generally non-Annie related, are great) To some extent, the same is true of the present day scenes with Brad--he shows up, tail wagging, gets pushed away by Annie, then gets distracted by some pretty girl ("Squirrel!") and pants away to later call Sam or Georgette to whine about Annie in his continued clueless manner. While these do provide some comic relief, again it just becomes too much. Same thing with the nearly unendurable, Shakespeare-laced, philosophical ramblings of her father's con partner, Raffy. They start off amusing, quickly become painful in an empathetic, "Ok, I get how Annie's feeling, having to listen to this" sort of way, then just become purely torturous.
Because of all that, I could never quite lose myself in the story, could never quite form the deep emotional connection that I wanted to form with the characters. So, while I could enjoy the story for what it was, appreciate the depth of the final con as it is revealed, and be happy for Annie's final ending, I didn't get that deep-down satisfaction that comes from finishing a well-told story. I think if we could just lose about 100 pages of the too much, this would certainly be a four star, and possibly even a five star, book.
November 6, 2013
Reading a book should not feel like a chore. Getting through this particular book was a living hell. At 544 pages this took me forever to read because around page 150 I wanted to quit, but since I was that far ahead I decided quitting now would be stupid since I invested so much time into it anyway. I started out liking all the characters. By page 350 or so I only liked 2 out of the half a dozen or so introduced. DK Destin was my favorite throughout the book since he seemed to have the most brains. Dan Hart I started to like later in the book. As for the main character, Annie and her Aunt Sam..Well, lets just say that neither were the sharpest knives in the drawer. They were written as very smart women, but they both seemed to make a lot of dumb choices. I did not like how they were written. In fact, I really did not enjoy how the book was written at all. Half of it seemed believable and than they other half seemed to be made up as the author went along. Quite a bit of the dialogue and thoughts were triplicated throughout the book. We could have done without that and a bigger portion of the story was so over described that I had to skip over some parts or the book was about to be thrown into a field of goats.
Tedious is the one word that comes to mind...If you like fast paced and a lot of action I highly recommend skipping this one.
Tedious is the one word that comes to mind...If you like fast paced and a lot of action I highly recommend skipping this one.
June 7, 2013
I love books with detail! Really. But this was so bogged down with repetition that I found myself skimming huge sections before I even got a third of the way through the book. I really didn't need SIX CHAPTERS describing that Annie likes to go FAST. I very likely could have picked up that tidbit in less than six sentences! I felt like the author had a checklist of things that had to be in the story: Vietnam vet in a wheelchair, jilted lesbian, cheating husband, 250 old movie quotes, "goode" guy who was a great substitute dad, worthless dad who was a criminal, fast car, fast plane, old plane, FBI, police, dog, second dog, unknown mother, a jacket, a hat, gemstones, best friend with a heart of gold and no man, a tornado, and on and on and on...I could see the checkmarks going down the list as I was reading. At some point VERY early on the checklist became too much for me....I'm not going to be able to force myself to even finish this.
October 12, 2009
This is unlike any other novel I have ever read. It has a dysfunctional family, hidden treasure, aviation, deadbeat dads, and a strange, twisting mystery. Annie Goode was abandoned by her father Jack at the age of seven. He left her with her lesbian Aunt Sam and a childhood friend, Clarke. Sam and Clarke raise her and despite the unconventional and untraditional family they make, Annie has a pretty happy childhood. She learns to fly a Piper plane left in the barn and joins the Navy in which she becomes a fighter and test pilot. Approximately every ten years tho, her happy life is disrupted by the sudden return of her convict and con artist father, Jack, who drops jewels and jackets left and right and disappears again. Where are the jewels coming from?
At the age of 26, Annie has hit a rough spot. She is attempting to divorce her cheating husband. Her dad calls and sends her on a wild goose chase or treasure hunt you could say, making her fly here and there and bring hidden passwords to him. He claims to be dying, but is it just the con artist at play again? Annie rushes to find out, hoping to find out about her unknown mother in the process. Her soon to be ex husband is hot on her heels as well as a Miami agent that wants her dad.. and maybe Annie.
My problem with this book is it is too long. About a hundred pages could have been cut due to unneccessary conversations. One character in particular annoyed me badly, a fellow con artist friend of Annie's dad, Rafael Rook. Anytime he speaks, he takes a good 2 paragraphs to say what can be said in two sentences. Whether he is trying to quote Shakespeare half the time or is just speaking in riddles is beyond me.
Had it not been for the lengthy conversations and the annoying Rafael, I would have LOVED this book. I thought the fiesty Annie Goode was a terrific character. I was eager to find out what she would do next and would she find love in the end as well as a hidden treasure?
At the age of 26, Annie has hit a rough spot. She is attempting to divorce her cheating husband. Her dad calls and sends her on a wild goose chase or treasure hunt you could say, making her fly here and there and bring hidden passwords to him. He claims to be dying, but is it just the con artist at play again? Annie rushes to find out, hoping to find out about her unknown mother in the process. Her soon to be ex husband is hot on her heels as well as a Miami agent that wants her dad.. and maybe Annie.
My problem with this book is it is too long. About a hundred pages could have been cut due to unneccessary conversations. One character in particular annoyed me badly, a fellow con artist friend of Annie's dad, Rafael Rook. Anytime he speaks, he takes a good 2 paragraphs to say what can be said in two sentences. Whether he is trying to quote Shakespeare half the time or is just speaking in riddles is beyond me.
Had it not been for the lengthy conversations and the annoying Rafael, I would have LOVED this book. I thought the fiesty Annie Goode was a terrific character. I was eager to find out what she would do next and would she find love in the end as well as a hidden treasure?
May 30, 2013
I'd give this book a solid 2.5 stars. It was between okay and a "liked it". I loved this book to begin, I thought the characters were interesting, quirky and generally people that I would enjoy meeting. The author did some nice work with the setting as well, which I always enjoy. This book lost me the further in I got as the situation became more and more ridiculous and the characters became more cartoonish than real. Really, why did every telephone conversation have to be in the middle of the night, and all of the characters felt perfectly free to wake everyone else? I'm lost as to how that enhanced the story. Great, everyone thought the ex-husband was kind of a jerk, so why on earth did they all keep encouraging him to get back together with our heroine? Have these people never heard of appropriate boundaries?
I might read more by this author, but I wouldn't really recommend investing any amount of time into this book, which is a shame given the promise it began with.
I might read more by this author, but I wouldn't really recommend investing any amount of time into this book, which is a shame given the promise it began with.
October 26, 2009
I can't believe I made it through this one. I am usually not this picky, but I had to finally stop reading and skip through to find out the end. I am really surprised this man has won awards. The book jumped from one crazy thought to the next. I couldn't get attached to any characters. Worst of all was all the swearing and I mean the F word maybe 2 or 3 times on a page. Ridiculous--if you can't think of anything more creative to say then swear then you shouldn't be writing a book!
dnf
June 5, 2013I made it two chapters before I decided to return the book to the library...my reasons...too many damn military mistakes! It really gets my goat (for lack of a better word!)
1. it is the US Naval Academy, not the US Navy Academy
2. flight instructors don't wear white suits (unless he was referring to summer whites)
3. a military hat is called a COVER!!
FtLoG, I really wish authors would actually do research before writing stuff
1. it is the US Naval Academy, not the US Navy Academy
2. flight instructors don't wear white suits (unless he was referring to summer whites)
3. a military hat is called a COVER!!
FtLoG, I really wish authors would actually do research before writing stuff
August 29, 2009
After 330 pages, I just couldn't take anymore and couldn't see it through to 500+. I didn't care what was going to happen to the characters, and while there was occasionally funny dialogue, the small moments in this book meant to make the story feel real didn't work for me at all. The chase-and-find plot was meant to intrigue, but was just plain irritating. I felt like maybe Malone was writing this in order to have it made into a movie where some of the reader's banging-head-against-the-wall frustrations could be glossed over...or maybe I just hoped so.
The meathead the main protagonist (a strong-willed military pilot) married--why? She rubs his hand lovingly even as he's being a thickheaded, chauvinistic fool--why? Her loving, wise, strong mother figure loves him and keeps undermining the protagonists's efforts to break free of him--why? The protagonist's father is meant to be interesting but his constant, teasing elusiveness and outrageous past make him come off as a caricature. Even his best buddy is ridiculous. Enough already.
The meathead the main protagonist (a strong-willed military pilot) married--why? She rubs his hand lovingly even as he's being a thickheaded, chauvinistic fool--why? Her loving, wise, strong mother figure loves him and keeps undermining the protagonists's efforts to break free of him--why? The protagonist's father is meant to be interesting but his constant, teasing elusiveness and outrageous past make him come off as a caricature. Even his best buddy is ridiculous. Enough already.
July 9, 2009
544 pages.
On the acknowledgement page, Malone writes:
And,as ever,there would be no book without Maureen.
My comment:
Someone needs to kidnap Maureen.
Hee Haw
On the acknowledgement page, Malone writes:
And,as ever,there would be no book without Maureen.
My comment:
Someone needs to kidnap Maureen.
Hee Haw
February 9, 2019
Langatmig und lahm, konstruiert, überzeichnete Figuren, die sich seltsam verhalten und dazu eine äußerst hölzerne Übersetzung. Hier stimmt irgendwie gar nichts für mich, deshalb breche ich bei Seite 140 ab. (Es wäre dennoch interessant, mal ins Original reinzuschauen und herauszufinden, wie groß der Anteil der schwerfälligen Übersetzung an meinem Missvergnügen ist ...)
May 31, 2009
Jack Peregrine was a con man - not just any con man - but one with a six year old daughter, Annie. When danger gets too close, Jack takes Annie to Emerald and Pilgrim's Rest (his childhood home) and leaves her with his sister Sam and her friend Clark. He promises to return for her, but in the meantime, as it was her 7th birthday, he gives her an airplane, The King of the Sky. This plane has been housed in Sam and Clark's barn since Annie was just a baby.
Sam and Clark have shared a residence for many years - but Sam is gay and Clark is once widowed and once divorced. They raise Annie as their own, eventually adopting her. Annie only sees her father once, briefly, while she is in high school. She has raced through life at top speed and continues when she heads off to Annapolis to become a Navy pilot. At 26, she finds herself headed back to Pilgrim's Rest for her b-day, having even raced through her first marriage - now headed for divorce. I believe when she arrives back at Pilgrim's Rest, that this is where the story really begins. She is greeted with a FedEx from her father, balloons from Sam and Clark, and a tornado (which will symbolize her next few days!) The FedEx from her father states that he is dying and would like her to fly The King of the Sky to St. Louis and meet him there.
This book started out great for me. I flew (no pun intended) through the first 100 pages and couldn't wait to keep going. Then I hit the middle and felt like the air went out of my balloon. It picked up speed again though and I soared to the end. (ok, I'll stop with the puns. . .) I am glad that I finished it.
My favorite character was probably Dan Hart, even though we do not get to see much of him. He is the Miami detective who has been tracking Annie's father. I enjoyed his instant rapport with Annie and their attraction. I also enjoyed steadfast, no-nonsense Clark. He was always there for Annie and even though his puns were corny, you knew you could always count on him (like the one that went something like this "It is better to have loved a short man than not a tall.")
I am not sure how I felt about Annie. I don't really felt like I really got to know her - that I never really got below the surface. Now maybe this was the point - because of her dad "abandoning" her and never even knowing who her mother was - she kept everyone at arm's length.
I can say that I liked this book - I didn't love it like I thought I would, but I am glad that I stuck with it all the same. The thing that bothered me from the beginning - was that in 1982 one of Annie's favorite movies was Top Gun - and the movie didn't come out until 1986. (I remember where I was when I saw it the first time - only because I was a later Navy wife and was in the bathroom at NTC, San Diego where the "famous" bathroom scene was filmed - there is even a plaque in it!) Now I was reading an uncorrected advance copy, so maybe this has been changed in the final version. . . Michael Malone has won the Edgar, the O. Henry, the Writer's Guild Award and the Emmy - so I am sure that I will give him another try! (As an aside - I will say that I have struggled with a headache all week as I was trying to read this, so that may have had an effect on my perceptions!)
Sam and Clark have shared a residence for many years - but Sam is gay and Clark is once widowed and once divorced. They raise Annie as their own, eventually adopting her. Annie only sees her father once, briefly, while she is in high school. She has raced through life at top speed and continues when she heads off to Annapolis to become a Navy pilot. At 26, she finds herself headed back to Pilgrim's Rest for her b-day, having even raced through her first marriage - now headed for divorce. I believe when she arrives back at Pilgrim's Rest, that this is where the story really begins. She is greeted with a FedEx from her father, balloons from Sam and Clark, and a tornado (which will symbolize her next few days!) The FedEx from her father states that he is dying and would like her to fly The King of the Sky to St. Louis and meet him there.
This book started out great for me. I flew (no pun intended) through the first 100 pages and couldn't wait to keep going. Then I hit the middle and felt like the air went out of my balloon. It picked up speed again though and I soared to the end. (ok, I'll stop with the puns. . .) I am glad that I finished it.
My favorite character was probably Dan Hart, even though we do not get to see much of him. He is the Miami detective who has been tracking Annie's father. I enjoyed his instant rapport with Annie and their attraction. I also enjoyed steadfast, no-nonsense Clark. He was always there for Annie and even though his puns were corny, you knew you could always count on him (like the one that went something like this "It is better to have loved a short man than not a tall.")
I am not sure how I felt about Annie. I don't really felt like I really got to know her - that I never really got below the surface. Now maybe this was the point - because of her dad "abandoning" her and never even knowing who her mother was - she kept everyone at arm's length.
I can say that I liked this book - I didn't love it like I thought I would, but I am glad that I stuck with it all the same. The thing that bothered me from the beginning - was that in 1982 one of Annie's favorite movies was Top Gun - and the movie didn't come out until 1986. (I remember where I was when I saw it the first time - only because I was a later Navy wife and was in the bathroom at NTC, San Diego where the "famous" bathroom scene was filmed - there is even a plaque in it!) Now I was reading an uncorrected advance copy, so maybe this has been changed in the final version. . . Michael Malone has won the Edgar, the O. Henry, the Writer's Guild Award and the Emmy - so I am sure that I will give him another try! (As an aside - I will say that I have struggled with a headache all week as I was trying to read this, so that may have had an effect on my perceptions!)
June 9, 2013
The first e-book I read thru the library's North Net Library System e-book. It was featured as a promo: free as e-book until June 1, 2013. The characters stayed with me for several days after finishing the book, always a good sign. LOTS of good character development: main character, her aunt, her dad, her pseudo uncle, her conceited husband (of 1 year), her black flying teacher back home, the Miami detective, her dad's side kick (the Cuban musician/drifter)....ALL GOOD
Story: Her no good-nik Dad leaves her with her Aunt at the family's NC home on her 7th birthday. There, she Has a steady normal childhood for remainder. After graduating hs, she becomes an ace pilot with the Navy and marries the male ace pilot in her class only to find he cheated on her. This is actually the point in her life where the story is being told.
Her Dad shows back up in her life (on her birthday again!), when he calls her at the family home in NC during a terrible storm, and says he is dying and needs her to fly 'their' old single engine plane to St. Louis right away!!! The adventure begins and winds up in Florida eventually unravelling the mystery behind her Dad and his old promise that he would leave her with "a million dollars".
Gold statue from off the coast of Cuba, plus emeralds, rubies, diamonds, FBI, Miami police detective, drifter, rest home, etc.
PLUS, a love story with a happy ending!!!
Story: Her no good-nik Dad leaves her with her Aunt at the family's NC home on her 7th birthday. There, she Has a steady normal childhood for remainder. After graduating hs, she becomes an ace pilot with the Navy and marries the male ace pilot in her class only to find he cheated on her. This is actually the point in her life where the story is being told.
Her Dad shows back up in her life (on her birthday again!), when he calls her at the family home in NC during a terrible storm, and says he is dying and needs her to fly 'their' old single engine plane to St. Louis right away!!! The adventure begins and winds up in Florida eventually unravelling the mystery behind her Dad and his old promise that he would leave her with "a million dollars".
Gold statue from off the coast of Cuba, plus emeralds, rubies, diamonds, FBI, Miami police detective, drifter, rest home, etc.
PLUS, a love story with a happy ending!!!
June 4, 2011
This book started out extremely slow, but I decided to stick with it. It took until about 200 pages into the book for it to finally pick up. Overall, it was an ok story. Annie, a Navy pilot, hears from her dad after over ten years. He dropped her off with her aunt when she was 7, just dropped her off and never looked back. He's a con artist and calls to say he is dying and has one last wish for her to fly to St. Louis with the "King of the Sky", the plane he left for her in the shed of her aunt's house when he left her when she was 7. Back then he would say to her, "Annie, you're a flier." This fueled her love of flying, love of the air, and need for speed - to go the highest and the fastest. Annie is in the midst of getting a divorce, but her soon-to-be ex won't sign the divorce papers. It soon becomes a wild goose chase as her father tries to pull off the biggest cons. It was an ok read and possibly would be a good reader's discussion book; however, if you are looking for a real attention-grabber than this isn't the book for you. It takes a bit to get into, though once you do, it does pick up and turns out to be a pretty good story.
May 31, 2013
Humm...this was about an average book, maybe another one of those 3.5, maybe.
Although the book was almost 500 pages, it was a rather quick read.
What kept the rating low, was mostly that I did not care for one of the main characters: Jack, Annie's father...the con artist, felon. No matter how much the author tried to tell me what a great guy he was, etc, I did NOT like him, at all. He was a very dishonest person, no matter how much "fluff" is added to his character. So, all the events and action that happened in this story, was not believable to me. Furthermore, how could Annie get into the naval academy with a wanted felon for a parent? I would like to think that there were extensive background checks for acceptance to our military schools. Maybe/maybe not? And I realize this is a fictional story, but I like books to be somewhat realistic.
Another point, that I have written about in many of my reviews of other books, is the need for authors to make sure they have something negative to say about President Bush...is this a "plus" to get published? I should minus a rating star just because that really bothers me....hummm, that would make it a two star book.
Although the book was almost 500 pages, it was a rather quick read.
What kept the rating low, was mostly that I did not care for one of the main characters: Jack, Annie's father...the con artist, felon. No matter how much the author tried to tell me what a great guy he was, etc, I did NOT like him, at all. He was a very dishonest person, no matter how much "fluff" is added to his character. So, all the events and action that happened in this story, was not believable to me. Furthermore, how could Annie get into the naval academy with a wanted felon for a parent? I would like to think that there were extensive background checks for acceptance to our military schools. Maybe/maybe not? And I realize this is a fictional story, but I like books to be somewhat realistic.
Another point, that I have written about in many of my reviews of other books, is the need for authors to make sure they have something negative to say about President Bush...is this a "plus" to get published? I should minus a rating star just because that really bothers me....hummm, that would make it a two star book.
June 29, 2011
This book was a free fridays ebook from barnes and nobles, and I am glad it was free and didn't spend money on it.
It was a nice beach read, unfortunately I was at the beach and started up on another book while in the midst of this one.
It is about a daughter, Annie, who is abandoned by her father, Jack, at her Aunt Sam's house. Her father has always been on the run, because he is a con-artist. Annie grows up as a pilot with the navy, and is always trying to break speed records. Jack's biggest con involves the help of Annie, whom she hasn't seen her father in several years. The police are after her now too, because she is involved and all she is trying to do is get her dying father out of it. Prior to the big con, she is going through a divorce, but during the con she falls for a miami vice cop, Dan Hart. Fortunately, with the help of others she gets Jack out of trouble and he disappears. Annie finally learns who her mother is too, which Jack has withheld from her the information her entire life.
It was a nice beach read, unfortunately I was at the beach and started up on another book while in the midst of this one.
It is about a daughter, Annie, who is abandoned by her father, Jack, at her Aunt Sam's house. Her father has always been on the run, because he is a con-artist. Annie grows up as a pilot with the navy, and is always trying to break speed records. Jack's biggest con involves the help of Annie, whom she hasn't seen her father in several years. The police are after her now too, because she is involved and all she is trying to do is get her dying father out of it. Prior to the big con, she is going through a divorce, but during the con she falls for a miami vice cop, Dan Hart. Fortunately, with the help of others she gets Jack out of trouble and he disappears. Annie finally learns who her mother is too, which Jack has withheld from her the information her entire life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2013
1.5 really.
Free Friday Nook Book
If some cut this book in half, and left the half of all the important plot, character, and atmosphere alone, this would be a 5 star book. However, there are at least 200 pages of fluff, pages filled with mind-numbing useless verbal trash that absolutely ruined this book for me. I no heart fluff!!!
Malone's strenght is his characters, the top-gun you love to hate, the old vet with a rough exterior and a heart of gold. The father figure whose more of a father to you than your flesh and blood. The lesbian aunt who loves old movies and tennis. The Spanish con man who is BFF with your con-man father. There all there.
I must admit, I hated reading 350 pages of fluff to only have it nose-dive at the end. I hated that the beginning was long and boring and when you finally give a crap about the characters, that is when you're left with short empty feeling air. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!
Free Friday Nook Book
If some cut this book in half, and left the half of all the important plot, character, and atmosphere alone, this would be a 5 star book. However, there are at least 200 pages of fluff, pages filled with mind-numbing useless verbal trash that absolutely ruined this book for me. I no heart fluff!!!
Malone's strenght is his characters, the top-gun you love to hate, the old vet with a rough exterior and a heart of gold. The father figure whose more of a father to you than your flesh and blood. The lesbian aunt who loves old movies and tennis. The Spanish con man who is BFF with your con-man father. There all there.
I must admit, I hated reading 350 pages of fluff to only have it nose-dive at the end. I hated that the beginning was long and boring and when you finally give a crap about the characters, that is when you're left with short empty feeling air. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!
May 19, 2013
This was the first book I've read by Michael Malone so I wasn't sure what to expect. On the whole I thought the story was okay but like one of the other reviews pointed out, it's 200 pages too long. Why we have to keep hearing the same stories over and over again? I would have rated it one star higher if the repetition wasn't there.
Many of the details that had anything to do with aviation were just plain wrong. The Spirit of St. Louis is still at the Smithsonian where's it's always been, the one in St. Louis is a copy. I would go into more details but I don't want to spoiler the story.
The character of the father seemed like it was borrowed from Jeannette Walls' "The Glass Castle".
On the plus side I thought it was very cool that the book was made available to libraries in unlimited quantities for a month. To quote Michael Malone, "Without libraries, the stories end" and I agree.
Many of the details that had anything to do with aviation were just plain wrong. The Spirit of St. Louis is still at the Smithsonian where's it's always been, the one in St. Louis is a copy. I would go into more details but I don't want to spoiler the story.
The character of the father seemed like it was borrowed from Jeannette Walls' "The Glass Castle".
On the plus side I thought it was very cool that the book was made available to libraries in unlimited quantities for a month. To quote Michael Malone, "Without libraries, the stories end" and I agree.
August 5, 2012
Years ago B&N was offering free copies of some ebooks to entice readers to enjoy an author they'd not read previously. A coworker of mine once praised Michael Malone: "he is good!" she said in suprised tones. Caught without other reading material in an uncomforably long wait for urgent care at a remote clinic, I began to read this book. Three hours later I was cranky and irritable. Whatever care I required no longer seemed so urgent, and neither did this book.
January 27, 2013
So. It's painfully obvious that this author used to write for daytime television. Why say something once when you can say it 20 times? I got your point the first 5 times you made it; quit beating me over the head with it already! The main character was supposed to be such an intelligent, strong, independent woman but she kept making incredibly stupid decisions. I didn't like her at all; therefore, I really didn't care about her, or any other character for that matter. Overall a very tedious, boring read.
August 25, 2013
This is a story about family, and what it means to be family, but it is also an adventure story about the long con. Annie, abandoned on her seventh birthday by her "always-on-the-run-from-the-law" father Jack, grows up with her Aunt Sam and "adopted" Uncle Clark as her "parents." Their love supports Annie and allows her to become a fast flying Navy commander. When Jack calls asking for Annie's help, she takes off on a wild goose chase that will help her re-connect with her dying father and realize more about family, love, and forgiveness than she ever thought she would.
October 19, 2009
Somewhere in this mess is a Michael Malone novel but I couldn't find it. So unbelievably repetitive as to be unreadable and indeed I quit in the middle. Life is too short to read fiction this bad. Very disappointing as I am a big Malone fan and his Handling Sin is one of my all time favorites. This should not have made it to press and it is maddening and inexplicable that Malone's editors and agents did not intervene. What a waste.
October 9, 2022
The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone is set in late-20th-century North Carolina. On Annie's seventh birthday, her father (Jack) brings her to his sister's home, and takes off. She's desperately unhappy at first, missing her father. She comes to love her aunt Sam and Sam's dear friend Clark. They provide a stable, loving home for Annie. Sam runs a movie rental shop in town; she and Clark watch movies every night. They love to inject movie quotes in conversation - and guess each other's quote. Annie grows up best friends with Georgette, her next-door neighbor.
Annie realizes her former traveling life with her father was really a life on the run with a con man. She befriends D.K., a veteran pilot. Together they renovate The King of the Sky, Jack's plane, and D.K. teaches her to fly. Annie is now a hot-shot Navy jet pilot at Annapolis, always craving speed.
On her 27th birthday Jack calls. Regardless of a tornado (dangerous flying weather), he wants her to fly The King of the Sky to St. Louis. He's dying. Against all advice and sense, she goes. Of course, he stands her up. Her soon-to-be ex-husband Brad follows in his private company jet. Brad brings a passenger, a man with a convincing story and money (who is actually a Miami policeman after Jack).
Throw into the mix Rafael "Raffy" Rook, Jack's buddy and partner in crime, wanted by gangsters and police alike. Annie meets Raffy in Miami, where she hopes to find her father, to learn the name of her birth mother. Raffy wants Annie to fly into Cuba and retrieve gems for Jack. The gems belong in a religious icon Jack had hidden. (Jack had told Annie stories about 'The Queen of the Sea' all through her early childhood.) Gangsters want the icon; so do the Feds. Annie and Raffy hatch a plot, prompted by the elusive Jack. Annie meets her mother face-to-face, outbluffs the Feds and falls in love.
The book starts out wonderful, with great humor you want to quote/share. The mysteries of what really happened in the Peregrine family, and Annie's birth mother, are interesting to unravel. But the annoying Raffy, with his lengthy faux Shakespeare quotes, turns the end story into ridiculous nonsense.
Annie realizes her former traveling life with her father was really a life on the run with a con man. She befriends D.K., a veteran pilot. Together they renovate The King of the Sky, Jack's plane, and D.K. teaches her to fly. Annie is now a hot-shot Navy jet pilot at Annapolis, always craving speed.
On her 27th birthday Jack calls. Regardless of a tornado (dangerous flying weather), he wants her to fly The King of the Sky to St. Louis. He's dying. Against all advice and sense, she goes. Of course, he stands her up. Her soon-to-be ex-husband Brad follows in his private company jet. Brad brings a passenger, a man with a convincing story and money (who is actually a Miami policeman after Jack).
Throw into the mix Rafael "Raffy" Rook, Jack's buddy and partner in crime, wanted by gangsters and police alike. Annie meets Raffy in Miami, where she hopes to find her father, to learn the name of her birth mother. Raffy wants Annie to fly into Cuba and retrieve gems for Jack. The gems belong in a religious icon Jack had hidden. (Jack had told Annie stories about 'The Queen of the Sea' all through her early childhood.) Gangsters want the icon; so do the Feds. Annie and Raffy hatch a plot, prompted by the elusive Jack. Annie meets her mother face-to-face, outbluffs the Feds and falls in love.
The book starts out wonderful, with great humor you want to quote/share. The mysteries of what really happened in the Peregrine family, and Annie's birth mother, are interesting to unravel. But the annoying Raffy, with his lengthy faux Shakespeare quotes, turns the end story into ridiculous nonsense.
June 18, 2025
this book felt literally never ending, but I felt like it deserved way more than all the other reviews are giving it. It wasn’t extremely boring, i enjoyed the storyline but it felt like the author just dragged it out so their book would have as many pages as it did
June 3, 2011
I have never read a Michael Malone book before. This one was offered at a bargain price for the nook a couple of weeks ago from B&N, and it looked too good to pass up. Boy, did that ever turn out to be true! What a great story, and what delightfully human, nuanced characters Mr. Malone has introduced us to!
The protagonist of the book is Anne Peregrine Goode. (Okay, so I like that her last name is also mine, but there is oh, so much more to like!) We meet Annie as a 7 year old on her birthday which turns out to be one of the most traumatic of her life. Her dad has driven her back to his old family home in rural Emerald, North Carolina, a place he has always described to her as a terrible place to grow up. Her dad Jack Peregrine has stopped the car on the road near the home place where his sister Sam and her friend Clark Goode now live, and Annie awakens to see her dad running from the barn back to the car. He gets her out of the car, hugs her desperately, and says he must leave her with Aunt Sam for now, but will come back for her. He also tells her that her birthday present is in the barn, and to remember that she is a flyer. It will be years before she sees him again.
With Annie loudly protesting, and a storm roiling up in the N. Carolina sky, Jack jumps in the car and roars away, stopping only once to shout back at Annie to remember that she is a flyer.
We next see Annie as a graduate of the Naval Academy and a test pilot in the US Navy. Mr. Malone fills in the details of Annie's younger life gradually, as we see how Sam and Clark were able to provide the love and nurturing support that Annie needed to achieve great success as a high school athlete, and to see how she learned to fly the present her dad had left for her in the barn: a fixed wing single engine plane. Turns out the neighbor down the road who grew up with Sam and Jack, D.K. Destin, is a Viet Nam war veteran. He had been a Navy pilot who was shot down in the China Sea. He is confined to a wheel chair after the accident, but remains a pilot and runs the air field in Emerald. D.K. Destin, a black man with Native American blood, is one of the many great characters which people this story.
Though Annie grows up without a close personal relationship with her father, she is still reminded of him often by photos of him in the house and many references in conversations with her Aunt Sam and "Uncle" Clark, also a Viet Nam vet, a former POW, and currently a pediatrician in the community. We see what a close relationship Annie and her dad shared during the 7 years they were together. Though unorthodox as a father, there was no doubt how much he loved and enjoyed his daughter. But Jack is a con artist and is always, seemingly running from either the police or powerful people he has scammed. Charming as he is, Annie couldn't be sure if anything he has told her is really true.
Seemingly out of the blue, Jack contacts Annie, desperately in need of her help. He needs her to fly to St. Louis in the old plane he had given her and to bring some very specific items with her when she comes. He claims to be dying and has nowhere else to turn. She is skeptical, yet drawn to do exactly as he has asked.
Thus begins the most extraordinary adventure as the father and daughter almost...nearly...and then finally reconnect. Just maybe the fantastic stories he has told her, or at least one of them concerning a lost relic recovered off the coast of Cuba by a Peregrine ancestor a couple of generations earlier, just might be authentic. There certainly are a lot of powerful people who believe it, and are willing to do anything to take it out of Jack's "custody." Annie is not convinced it's real, but she believes that if she helps her dad, maybe he will tell her who her real mother is, or was. The birth mother's name on the birth certificate he has provided for her is "Claudette Colbert," and she figured out that couldn't possibly be true a long time ago.
Annie is a very strong character in this novel, which is a good thing, because nearly every character introduced in this book could become a lead character in their own book if Mr. Malone chose to write it. This book is a winner, the plot is complex but not complicated, and will have you wondering if all the questions will be resolved in the end. I think you'll agree that they are!
The protagonist of the book is Anne Peregrine Goode. (Okay, so I like that her last name is also mine, but there is oh, so much more to like!) We meet Annie as a 7 year old on her birthday which turns out to be one of the most traumatic of her life. Her dad has driven her back to his old family home in rural Emerald, North Carolina, a place he has always described to her as a terrible place to grow up. Her dad Jack Peregrine has stopped the car on the road near the home place where his sister Sam and her friend Clark Goode now live, and Annie awakens to see her dad running from the barn back to the car. He gets her out of the car, hugs her desperately, and says he must leave her with Aunt Sam for now, but will come back for her. He also tells her that her birthday present is in the barn, and to remember that she is a flyer. It will be years before she sees him again.
With Annie loudly protesting, and a storm roiling up in the N. Carolina sky, Jack jumps in the car and roars away, stopping only once to shout back at Annie to remember that she is a flyer.
We next see Annie as a graduate of the Naval Academy and a test pilot in the US Navy. Mr. Malone fills in the details of Annie's younger life gradually, as we see how Sam and Clark were able to provide the love and nurturing support that Annie needed to achieve great success as a high school athlete, and to see how she learned to fly the present her dad had left for her in the barn: a fixed wing single engine plane. Turns out the neighbor down the road who grew up with Sam and Jack, D.K. Destin, is a Viet Nam war veteran. He had been a Navy pilot who was shot down in the China Sea. He is confined to a wheel chair after the accident, but remains a pilot and runs the air field in Emerald. D.K. Destin, a black man with Native American blood, is one of the many great characters which people this story.
Though Annie grows up without a close personal relationship with her father, she is still reminded of him often by photos of him in the house and many references in conversations with her Aunt Sam and "Uncle" Clark, also a Viet Nam vet, a former POW, and currently a pediatrician in the community. We see what a close relationship Annie and her dad shared during the 7 years they were together. Though unorthodox as a father, there was no doubt how much he loved and enjoyed his daughter. But Jack is a con artist and is always, seemingly running from either the police or powerful people he has scammed. Charming as he is, Annie couldn't be sure if anything he has told her is really true.
Seemingly out of the blue, Jack contacts Annie, desperately in need of her help. He needs her to fly to St. Louis in the old plane he had given her and to bring some very specific items with her when she comes. He claims to be dying and has nowhere else to turn. She is skeptical, yet drawn to do exactly as he has asked.
Thus begins the most extraordinary adventure as the father and daughter almost...nearly...and then finally reconnect. Just maybe the fantastic stories he has told her, or at least one of them concerning a lost relic recovered off the coast of Cuba by a Peregrine ancestor a couple of generations earlier, just might be authentic. There certainly are a lot of powerful people who believe it, and are willing to do anything to take it out of Jack's "custody." Annie is not convinced it's real, but she believes that if she helps her dad, maybe he will tell her who her real mother is, or was. The birth mother's name on the birth certificate he has provided for her is "Claudette Colbert," and she figured out that couldn't possibly be true a long time ago.
Annie is a very strong character in this novel, which is a good thing, because nearly every character introduced in this book could become a lead character in their own book if Mr. Malone chose to write it. This book is a winner, the plot is complex but not complicated, and will have you wondering if all the questions will be resolved in the end. I think you'll agree that they are!
June 26, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. There was lots of story to please everyone with lots of plot twists and turns. The writing was fun, breezy, with really good pace. What's not to like? Well, it was implausible, impossible, and jam packed with way too much backstory in too many places - but it works and is fun because the author really is skilled!
Annie P. Goode is a crack Navy pilot who is only topped in skills by her soon to be ex. Her rigid adherence to rules comes from her crazy early like with her con-man father who dragged her around the country and involved her in his schemes until he unceremoniously at age 7 leaves her and an airplane with his long-suffering sister. Annie is tormented by not knowing who her mother is.
Enter her dad again through a series of cryptic messages that he is dying and needs help, as she is visiting her Aunt. Enter also a Miami Vice cop who warns her to stay out of it and turn in her dad. I won't tell you any more of the story suffice it to say it is a roller coaster ride from here on. Almost all ends well, and Annie learns more than who her mother is!
I recommend this and I would certainly read more books by author Michael Malone.
Annie P. Goode is a crack Navy pilot who is only topped in skills by her soon to be ex. Her rigid adherence to rules comes from her crazy early like with her con-man father who dragged her around the country and involved her in his schemes until he unceremoniously at age 7 leaves her and an airplane with his long-suffering sister. Annie is tormented by not knowing who her mother is.
Enter her dad again through a series of cryptic messages that he is dying and needs help, as she is visiting her Aunt. Enter also a Miami Vice cop who warns her to stay out of it and turn in her dad. I won't tell you any more of the story suffice it to say it is a roller coaster ride from here on. Almost all ends well, and Annie learns more than who her mother is!
I recommend this and I would certainly read more books by author Michael Malone.
August 28, 2009
I've read 240 pages of this 400+ books, and I just can't finish it. If school hadn't have started back up and I were reading it during summer break, I probably would've finished it. With school back in session, pleasure reading time is precious, especially since I check my books out from the library. I have a deadline to finish these and if I'm not interested, I won't make time to read.
I've been annoyed by the book from the beginning. The main character is a pilot, and I got really tired about reading about planes and jets. Another main character is obsessed with movies. I got tired of movie quotes. While reading I didn't care about any of the characters. I had no investment in the story at all.
I've been annoyed by the book from the beginning. The main character is a pilot, and I got really tired about reading about planes and jets. Another main character is obsessed with movies. I got tired of movie quotes. While reading I didn't care about any of the characters. I had no investment in the story at all.
August 16, 2012
This book was hard for me to get through because the author flip flops between the present and the past. Sometimes his tangents on the past made me forget what was happening in the present and it took a few minutes to remember what was going on. Overall I enjoyed the story and kept reading because I wanted to know how it ended and I liked the characters. The summary of the story is that Anne is left by her con artist dad when she is 7 years old to live with her Aunt Sam in Emerald, NC. Anne grows up to become the fastest female navy pilot and loves her career with the Navy. Meanwhile, her dad (Jack) gets caught up in his criminal ways and needs Anne to help him stay out of jail. This sends her on the biggest journey of her life.
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