Road Trip: Mystery “dead on” South Carolina

The Great American Road Trip

South Carolina Beach

Destination: South Carolina

Book: Bull’s Island by Dorothea Benton Frank

With So What, Ya’ll? Dorothea Benton Frank does the South Carolina Cliché

A guest post by Margo Millure of The Travel Belles

Trouble looms big time in the opening pages of Dorothea Benton Frank‘s Bull’s Island   and Elizabeth “Betts” McGee, a southern transplant in New York City knows it. On direct order from her boss she is sent back to her native Charleston, South Carolina, on business, and into the past she hoped and believed she had left behind forever. There she will face the big things of life: her estranged family, the love of her life, along with her own very big secret. Readers love going where protagonists wouldn’t dare go on their own devices. This is where Frank takes us.

Bull Island Gator

Off the bat, I need to say that the part of the plot that has the real Bull Island, part of the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, being potentially developed as a gated community isn’t going to happen in real life. As someone who lives in South Carolina, the concept was distracting as I read along. In my mind the idea is so ludicrous, it leaves me wondering why Frank didn’t make up a name instead of just adding an apostrophe “s”.

The hallmarks of Frank’s novels, which are well-known for their depictions of the South Carolina low country’s social and geographical landscapes are all here: We’ve got a certain shade of colorful characterizations and vernacular which seems peculiar to South Carolina. We’ve got sultry heat and humidity, briny air and violent late day thunderstorms, all described with such loving detail that you’ll be ready for sweet tea on the veranda and a shower after reading about them. We’ve got J.D. Langley, a handsome and unassuming ex-fiance in a seersucker suit. We’ve got a 20 foot alligator and lots of Labrador retrievers. There is even a repugnant blue blooded matriarch who says things like, “Dahlin, that is not such a good idea, if you are trying to conceive!,” to her daughter in-law who seems to have had too much vodka during the daylight hours. Last but not least, our protagonist, Betts, has a very big secret.

Great literature? Probably not, but Frank’s novels always seem to fulfill the promise set out on page one, and Bulls Island is no exception. What you see is what you get. Call it clichéd, stereotyped or melodramatic, but in this instance with Bull’s Island, the pitch of the dialogue and her characterizations are occasionally so dead-on that I’m tempted to say, “Well, so what ya’ll?”

Frank brings a world of extreme Southern family dynamics to life, where her characters pull off their secrets and lies with a dazzling panache. Betts reminds me of a few women I know who were raised in the South and have led interesting, complicated lives. She doesn’t demure. There’s a steeliness, a hint of cynicism and a groundedness. She’s conflicted, and more than a little affected. In this regard, Frank gets the modern southern woman right too. Plot wise, Bull’s Island feels a little front heavy on the prelude to the central action, with Betts not encountering her long lost love, J.D., in the present time, until around halfway into the book.

Anyone who has read one of “Dottie” Frank’s earlier novels, such as Sullivan’s Island or Land of the Mango Sunsets will know what to expect here. Calling Bull’s Island a perfect beach read, or just the book to put in your beach bag is even a cliché. But come to think of it, flip flops and sunscreen are too.

For some definitely NOT cliche music to go with your stop in South Carolina, be sure to visit Music Road. Each week, Kerry Dexter tells us what outstanding musicians come from the state we’re visiting, and this time its three musicians for two states.

Margo Millure

Margo Millure is a published journalist, essayist and fiction writer, and the founder and editor of The Travel Belles. She loves reading, writing and traveling, and can usually be found on any given day doing at least one of them.  In addition to all that serious stuff, she can also be found on Twitter: @travelbelles or @gomarwrites. She lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Starfish photo by Margo Millure, all rights reserved. Gator picture from Flickr with Creative Commons license. Click on the picture to see more by this photographer.

THANKS, Margo for sharing a great beach and a great beach read. I encourage everyone to take a look at The Travel Belles–a  travel web site that does not stay in the Southern U.S., although it may keep the Southern sensibility.

How about sharing your own experiences in South Carolina? Venture outside of Charleston? Please give Margo and A Traveler’s Library a boost by sharing this post on Stumble Upon and/or Twitter.

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Tags: BlogSherpa, Charleston, guest post, Mystery novel, road trip, South Carolina, wilderness