Legend Press, September 15, 2016.
Four Stars
Rebecca is an English doctor, working at a field
hospital in East Africa. She is a surgeon, treating Islamic extremists with the
same care and respect as she does for the western soldiers. Because of the
conflict in the region – and other circumstances we learn about later – Rebecca
is forced to take time off from her work. She travels to her aunt and uncle’s
house on the nearby Indian Ocean, where she will rest and recuperate with a
family that she hardly knows.
After the stress of her post as a trauma surgeon in a
war-torn region, Rebecca relaxes into the glamorous life of her family, enjoying
cocktail parties and days on the beach. Her uncle is mostly away, busy with his
financial career, and her aunt is distracted by her socialite circle. Rebecca
spends much of her time with her enigmatic younger cousin Storm. He has grown
up in the gilded expatriate lifestyle of his family, but they are suddenly threatened
by the political climate. The white Africans living on the coast are in danger
of increasing terror attacks, and Rebecca knows more about it than she is
willing to admit to her family.
The novel removes at a slow pace, and it’s difficult
to feel sympathy for Rebecca, regardless of everything she has been through.
Her increasing intimacy with Storm is dark and dangerous, and even though she
tries to protect her family, her very presence is a threat to them. Rebecca’s
new friend Margaux grew up in east Africa, and her worldview is callous but
truthful when she says, “There are fortunes to be made off poor people… [a]nd
there are no rules here. Money makes the rules.” (Loc. 1370)
In her portrayal of the political climate, the author
seems to be sympathetic to the white Africans, whose fortunes were made by
exploiting others – as colonialism takes a downturn, they are losing their
place in Africa. I don’t have a problem with her expressing her opinion, but I still
would have liked to see other perspectives as well. Rebecca is a fairly strong
character, but the others are pretty one-dimensional. I think this story had
great potential, but it could have been expanded on further, especially some of
the plot threads that were kind of abandoned. Overall, this was an intriguing,
enjoyable novel that, despite of its flaws, was worth the read.
I received this book from Legend Press and NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.
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