I am saying goodbye to ‘My book of the month’ in 2022. Instead, I’ll be adding more regular reviews of books I have read.
This means you’ll see what an eclectic reader I am. There are certain types of novels I avoid (horror and fantasy – I’m looking at you) and there are certain genres that I choose to read to either soothe, stimulate or challenge me, depending on how I feel. I welcome your suggestions of books you have read and loved, so please leave a comment.
Here’s my first review for 2022: A Family of Strangers by Fiona Lowe.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Set in a small community around a cove in Tasmania, this is the story of multiple families and their relationships. For Addy Topic, returning to Rookery Cove to take up a job that offers a valuable promotion forces her to confront past traumas. Stephanie Gallagher and her family moved to the area to live a slower pace of life but discovers it’s not that easy to balance family dynamics. After the death of her husband, Brenda Lambeck is determined to live her true life and mend the difficult relationship she has with her daughter but discovers it’s not straightforward.
Through the formation of a community choir, all these strands and others are pulled together to change the lives of everyone involved. This sounds like a cliched plot but, instead, in the skilled hands of Fiona Lowe the story becomes a page-turner.
The sign of an engrossing story is the way it entices you to keep reading, to discover the foibles of the characters and see how they overcome obstacles. I was urging some characters on (while simultaneously wanting to slap a couple of them). For me, that’s a sign of an engaging story.
You can read more about A Family of Strangers on Goodreads.