I guess our life on the island was one which never fit you right. I like to imagine you some days when I look out the window across the harbour, all those miles of sea and land between us. But, sister, we are always connected.
When young nurse Emer loses her beloved sister, she is haunted by grief and desperate to escape her memories. Taking a job in Vinalhaven, a rocky outpost in the wild Atlantic, feels like the refuge she so badly needs.
Her patient, Susannah, has lived in isolation for many years, since the tragic death of her sister Kate caused her to withdraw from island life. However, when Emer discovers a bundle of letters in a rainbow quilt in her bedroom and shares the story of her own loss, Susannah opens up. She begins to tell the story of Kate’s brutal and secret past, and her marriage to a man with a heart as cold as the ocean.
But when Emer starts asking locals about Kate, the island air sizzles with hostility. There are people who would rather that Susannah kept quiet, who have no qualms about threatening Emer. But despite the warnings to stay away, Emer is determined to find out what really happened the night Kate died – and the final secret that is keeping Susannah a prisoner to the past.
Author bio
Noelle Harrison is the Irish author of nine novels and five plays and has been translated into over 13 different languages. Her short stories have been published in Lines of Vision, Irish Writing on Irish Art, & Gutter Magazine of New Scottish Writing. In 2016, Noelle co-founded Aurora Writers' Retreats building on 20 years’ experience of teaching creative writing in Ireland, Scotland, Norway and England.
@NoelleHarrison
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://bit.ly/2VAKYDH
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My Review
An interesting location for this historical dual timeline novel and one that is skilfully evoked. When Emer's and Susanna's lives intertwine, we are led through Emer's discovery of some letters secretly sewn into a quilt into a discovery that will shock.
I enjoyed both stories but there were times when I felt the narrative losing pace a little. It soon picked up, however, and then I was gripped once again.
This story gives the readers an insight into island life over a period of decades and the close-knit community that inhabits it. It also explores many themes that are important today, the rights of women, marriage, sexuality, and does it in a sensitive manner.
This is a book with a difference and as such the characters and location will stay with you.
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