Margery Benson's life ended the day her father walked out of his study and never came back. Forty years later, abandoning a dull job, she advertises for an assistant. The successful candidate is to accompany Margery on an expedition to the other side of the world to search for a beetle that may or may not exist. Enid Pretty is not who she had in mind. But together they will find themselves drawn into an adventure that exceeds all Margery's expectations, eventually finding new life at the top of a red mountain.
This is a story that is less about what can be found than the belief it might be found; it is an intoxicating adventure story and it is also a tender exploration of a friendship between two unforgettable women that defies all boundaries.
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WHEN MARGERY WAS ten, she fell in love with a beetle.
1 - THE GOLDEN BETTLE OF NEW CALEDONIA, 1914
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(@TransworldBooks, 23 July 2020, 304 pages, e-book, #ARC from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed, #BlogTour 25 July via @RandomTTours)
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I was excited to be part of the blog tour because Rachel Joyce is one of my favourite writers. I've read and loved all of her books. It took a few chapters for me to fall under the spell of this book. Margery is a brilliant character, she's seems so shy and uncertain at first, very sad and the kind of person it would be easy to take advantage of. I love how she develops across the course of the book. I wanted to hug her and make her tea and jam scones for some reason. Her passion about beetles and her knowledge is well research and presented. Enid is another kettle of fish entirely. The two women couldn't be different. End is brash and careless and hiding dark secrets that put them both in danger. And who is the strange man following them and what's his connection to Margery? I laughed and cried so much reading this.
