This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Debs Carr
Eva Jackson’s idyllic marriage hasn’t even reached its second anniversary when her husband, Jackson, is drowned in a freak accident. Bereft, she struggles to cope and when the search is called of before his body is found, Eva finds it almost impossible to keep going. She recalls Jackson’s promise to take her to visit his father in Tasmania in the autumn and, hopes that spending time with someone who loved Jackson as much as she did might help her find a way to cope. She looks forward to his father filling in the gaps about Jackson's childhood now that he never can and pays him a visit.
Eva, broken and heart sore, does not expect the reception she receives from Jackson’s father, a drunk who tells her she should never have gone to Tasmania. Eva isn't ready to return home to England and tracks down Jackson’s brother, Saul, at his home on the unspoilt island of Wattleboon. She knows that Saul and Jackson had fallen out four years before, but she has no idea who else she can turn to. Saul is as unhappy to see her as his father was, but then something happens – I don’t want to give any spoilers – and he lets her stay in his shack for a few days. It's from there that Eva begins to uncover the truth behind her husband’s past that puts everything she ever thought she’d known about him into a tailspin.
I hadn’t read Lucy Clarke’s first book, The Sea Sisters, so had no idea what to expect, but she is one of those writers whose books export you into another realm where you see, feel and almost hear the characters coming alive. The story is told from Eva, Saul and every so often Jackson's point of view to give a deeper insight into what was going through his mind before the tragedy. The clever plot, with startling revelations and beautifully portrayed settings made this book one that I didn’t want to put down. Eva is faced with difficult, almost impossible decisions which made me wonder at times what I would have done in her position. A gripping, sinister story that's well worth reading.9/10