Atria Books, August 2, 2016.
Four Stars
The House
Between Tides is an atmospheric debut novel that is
already being compared to Kate Morton’s novels of multigenerational mystery,
and the comparison is apt. Both Morton’s and Maine’s novels use dual timelines
to gradually expose family secrets, in this case moving from the murky past of
1910 to one hundred years later in the present day of 2010. The movements back
and forth through time are anchored by a gothic ancestral home filled with
shocking secrets.
On a small island in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, the
ancient house of Muirlan is isolated from the rest of the community during high
tides. In 1910, Muirlan is inhabited by Theo Blake, a prolific painter of the
natural world surrounding his home. As his fame increases in the art world, he
finds a young wife named Beatrice and brings her home with him to Muirlan,
thinking that time away from Edinburgh will bring them closer together. However,
the isolation of the island creates a rift in their relationship – Beatrice
finds herself sympathizing with Theo’s struggling tenants, and she is
increasingly repelled by his thoughtlessly aristocratic way of life.
When Beatrice suddenly vanishes from the island, Theo
withdraws from society. His paintings turn dark with emotion, and he rarely leaves
the isolation of Muirlan until his death. In 2010, a young woman named Hetty
inherits the crumbling, uninhabited house when her last living relative dies.
She has no knowledge of her Blake ancestors, until human remains are found in
the ruins of Muirlan, and she begins to unravel the secrets of the past.
A century after Theo and Beatrice’s arrival on the
island, the mystery of their marriage is still affecting the residents of the
island. Coming from the city, Hetty plans to turn Muirlan into a luxury resort,
but as she gets to know the residents and their history, she begins to envision
a different, more sustainable future for the island. Maine’s descriptions of
the island setting are dark and beautiful, captivating in their complexity. The
attention to detail shows a clear love of the land and its wildlife. Passages
describing the salty air and crashing waves make you feel like you’re really
there on Muirlan’s intriguing island.
With the help of a cantankerous yet attractive
groundskeeper, Hetty searches for clues to understand her family’s past. For
the most part, Hetty and the other characters are believable – they are
imperfect and interesting. As is usually the case in dual timeline novels, one
time period tends to be stronger than the other. In this novel, the characters
in the early 1900s are more fleshed out and realistic – it is easier to
understand their motivations and feel complicit in their decisions.
Hetty’s storyline is a bit weaker, and her romance is
frustratingly predictable – she trades one man for another, and never seems able
to stand on her own. Hetty is steamrolled by everyone around her, and
characters such as her former boyfriend become tedious clichés. While the novel
is slow at times, it is still a fun, intriguing story, with a surprising mystery
that keeps you reading rapidly to the end.
I received this novel from Atria Books/Simon &
Schuster in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment