The forbidden escapades of Prohibition in the Pacific Northwest. Unintentional stowaway, Alexandria, stumbles into Prohibition's underworld--and the heart of Jake McKenzie. Young and wild, Alex discovers rum running to be enticing, racing over dark waters weaving through the many islands between Canada and Washington State while evading the law. However, when she catches the eye of Antonio, the head of the Italian Mafia intent on taking over the Northwest Territory, excitement turns perilous. Now, decades later, unsettled by the unsolved murder of Antonio and the false accusation of Jake for the crime, Alex musters the courage to clear her husband’s name. Devising a plan, she hires Jean, a college student, on the pretext of assisting with her overgrown garden. But as the summer progresses, more than the unraveling of the flower beds emerges, as the clues to Antonio's demise are unearthed. This dual timeline mystery twisting between the 1920’s and the 1970’s is steeped with research of the bootlegging era.   Whiskey Cove portrays the tumultuous times of a changing society ruled by the unquenched demand for booze and the law that worked both sides. Exciting, engrossing, a great read. Boy, would this make a terrific film! --John Dayton, Producer/Director/Writer Whiskey Cove immerses us in the lore of rum-running in the Northwest during Prohibition. In painting the vivid characters involved, Frisino goes far beyond the intriguing tales of that period to share the life story of a crusty survivor, Alexandria McKenzie. "Alex", her husband Jake and his partner Stoney as a team were leaders in running whiskey from Canada into the States through the San Juan islands. It was a dangerous business, evading the law and fighting off the mobs from back east trying to muscle into their territory. Their escapades alone make the book worth reading. An even more interesting aspect of the story is the relationship that grows between Alex and Jean, a college student hired ostensibly to renovate the gardens around her old house. With all the trickery she applied to rum-running, Alex draws Jean into a search for a mysterious object needed to set her mind at rest before dying. Along with the fascinating stories she tells, she imparts wisdom acquired over the years and fosters a bond between them. We live the unfolding story through Jean's eyes and watch as Alex introduces her to the ways of the sea. The mystery surrounding the missing object deepens when it becomes apparent Jean is now stalked by a shadowy figure. To compound matters, the grandson of the runners' arch enemy, Sheriff Drummond, enters the picture. Jean is soon torn between loyalty to Alex, attraction to Nate Drummond and suspicion of Nate's motives. The mystery deepens as the story progresses and leaves us engrossed to the very end. Frisino writes with enchanting style, choosing colorful words and phrases to carry the story along. The dialog is excellent, varied to reflect the speaker and so fitting in the case of Alex. Her character evolves more from what she says and does than from descriptions. She becomes a heroine we can love and admire, hoping for the peace of mind she covets in spite of the transgressions of her youth. Two love stories, separated by forty years, run in parallel through the book. Each reflects the life style of its time and piques our interest in its own way. However, the one set during Prohibition gives us a first-hand view of the adventure and romance of rum-running, enough to make us envious of that time. Whiskey Cove is an all-round excellent read. --Sandy Graham It s the 1970s. College student Jean gets hired to overhaul a garden in Bellingham, and finds herself digging back into history. Her employer Alexandria used to be a rum runner back in the day; she is looking for one piece of her love story that will set her at peace. But Jean finds herself followed as she finds out more and more about Alexandria s colorful past. And the reader is torn with doubts about her young suitor s honest intents. Denise Frisino s story develops slowly and gains speed towards the middle of the book. The reader is kept at suspense what the object of interest really is and about who is to be trusted. At times it might feel a bit lengthy, and why Jean is so drawn to her employer is not entirely comprehensible to me. The ending is quite surprising, and the insights about the prohibition chapter of the Pacific Northwest gained along the way is quite fascinating. --Amazon Reader Denise Frisino integrates her decades of performing in theater, on camera, and teaching to create memorable characters for her newest novel, Orchids of War the riveting story of the Japanese spy ring working up and down the West Coast prior to WWII. A Pacific Northwest native and indie-author, Denise uses her blog/videos to share some of her interviews with the men and women of WWII and describe the list of the books used in her research. She is currently working on the sequ