Adrenalin Books, September 16, 2016.
Three Stars
The Girl from
the Sea is yet another novel that is being compared
to Gone Girl, and once again it doesn’t
quite stand up to the original. I’m looking forward to the day when every
thriller with a female character isn’t being compared to Gillian Flynn’s famous
novel, because it does a disservice to both. Boland’s novel is very different
from Flynn’s – it is not quite as strong, but it explores a very interesting
idea and it manages suspenseful elements quite well.
A woman is found washed up on the beach in England,
with no memories of who she is or what her life was like. After several days of
being unable to even recognize her own reflection, the woman is claimed by her
apparent boyfriend Piers, who tells her that her name is Mia James. She learns
that she is very wealthy, with a beautiful waterfront townhouse, glamorous
friends, and a wonderful lifestyle. However, Mia immediately feels
uncomfortable in her own life, and she is certain that Piers is keeping secrets
from her. The only think she truly knows about herself is that she loves to
row, and she is drawn to the rowing club and one of its charismatic
instructors, Jack.
Mia has no idea how she ended up on that beach, but
investigators assume it was a rowing accident – she must have gone out alone at
night and fallen into the sea. Mia doesn’t remember anything from her past, and
she is shocked to learn that her father is dead and she is estranged from her
sister and mother. However, as the secrets surrounding her are gradually
exposed, Mia realizes there may have been a more sinister explanation for her
accident – and the person she trusts the most may be the most dangerous.
This novel had an exciting start and it moved quickly
in many different directions, but then many of these loose ends were just
abandoned with no explanation. The concept of Mia’s accident is an original
idea, although I didn’t feel like the suspense followed through to the end. I
did figure out much of the ending – although there was a twist I didn’t see
coming – but it wasn’t surprising or thrilling enough to really get excited
about. This novel was a great escape for a few hours, but not powerful enough
to put it in line as the next Gone Girl.
I received this novel from Adrenalin Books and NetGalley
in exchange for an honest review.
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