The Ghostlights is the poignant story of a family of Irish women who are each looking for the real meaning of home. This is a novel about family, obligation, identity and small-town life, written with deftness and sensitivity by the author of Where the Edge Is. When a stranger checks into a family B&B - in a small village in rural Ireland - no one takes too much notice... at least until his body is found in the lake four days later.
The new novel from Gráinne Murphy, whose short fiction has been longlisted for 2021 Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award.The identity of the unknown guest raises questions for polar opposite twin sisters Liv and Marianne and their mother Ethel, all of whom feel trapped by the choices they made earlier in life. They each find themselves forced to confront their past, their present and what they really want from their future.
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It was too early for breakfast. GOOD FRIDAY
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(@Legend_Times_, 1 September 2021, 233 pages, ebook, #ARC from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed, #BlogTour 12 September)
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I've enjoyed other books from the author and was looking forward to The Ghostlights. I expected the book to focus on the dead guest in the B&B but this is not the main focal point of the story. The death instead serves as the catalyst for Liv, Marianne and Ethel to reassess their lives and choices. I really enjoyed the way the stories gradually come together and the way the author brings the small village where they live and the foibles of such places to life. I got a real sense of place from this book and fell in love with the vivid characters. This is a sad, beautiful book.
