ON A WILD AND WINDSWEPT ISLAND, THE SECRETS OF THE PAST UNRAVEL...
When she hears the news of the death of her ex-husband, Binnie feels like her tranquil life in the West Country is over.
To her surprise, she discovers that he has left her the island in the beautiful archipelago off the coast of Cornwall and the dilapidated house where he spent his childhood, and Binnie has to take her family to the island - revisiting it for the first time in years - and work out what to do.
As she becomes involved in the life of the island, and its inhabitants, she has to embark upon a whole new life and discovers many things about her husband - and her own past - that will change everything forever...
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(@TransworldBooks, 31 July 2011, 464 pages, ebook, copy from the publisher via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed, #BlogTour 14 October via @RandomTTours)
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I had the same issue with this book as Sea of Dreams which I read and reviewed recently. The book is set in the modern day but the dialogue and characters read very much like the book is set in the past, around the 1930's. This feeling didn't leave for the duration of the book and niggled a bit. I like to get a sense of place from books I read and this one was jumbled. The characters do ridiculous things at times. There is a creepy old man, rambling, huge clues are dropped that he likely killed someone but definitely kept a body hidden from a coroner and the other characters see his behaviour as ok as he's one of the islanders. Er no, just no. I did enjoy much about the book though. The author does a good job of bringing the setting to vivid life. I did enjoy some of the mystery elements, sort of like an Agatha Christie at times.
