June 30, 2014
For most of her 76 years, Kathleen Whittier Mostyn has run the only hotel in the sleepy town of Silver Bay, on the east coast of Australia. In recent years, the town’s visitors have mostly been whale-watchers who charter boats to see humpbacks and dolphins during migration season. One such boat is captained by Kathleen’s niece, Liza McCullen, who emigrated from England six years ago with her young daughter, Hannah. When London-based real estate developer Mike Dormer arrives in town to scout a location for a new resort, he’s immediately taken with the area—and with Liza and Hannah. But it’s soon clear that development would have severe consequences on the annual visit of the whales and dolphins, and Mike is suddenly moved to save the bay. He needs Liza to help raise awareness back in England, even though the trip there would force Liza to confront the tragic past that drove her to Australia. Moyes brings polished prose and well-rounded characters to a setting with abundant appeal. Unfortunately, she doesn’t quite infuse new life into the well used plot device of small business versus developers, and Liza’s secret is unveiled without any particular regard for timing, which causes it to land with minimal effect.
July 15, 2014
More earnest and less quirky thanMoyes' later successes, Me Before You (2012) and One Plus One(2014), this romantic novel originally published in Britain in 2007 centers onthe moral and emotional crises faced by a buttoned-down Englishman who disruptsthe tranquility of an isolated coastal community in New South Wales when hescopes it out for a high-end resort.For the last six years, Liza and her10-year-old daughter, Hannah, have lived in Silver Bay with Liza's feisty76-year-old aunt Kathleen, who owns a hotel that's seen better days. Liza, whoskippers one of several whale-watching boats in the bay, seems overprotectiveof Hannah; it gradually becomes clear that Liza escaped England under a cloudsix years ago and is hiding from the outside world. Enter Mike, a methodicaljunior partner in London's Beaker Holdings. While his fiancee, Vanessa-whohappens to be the boss's daughter-finalizes wedding plans, Mike heads to SilverBay, where Beaker Holdings hopes to build a large luxury resort. Staying atKathleen's hotel and becoming increasingly friendly with the locals, Mikedoesn't let on why he's really there. He and Liza share an obvious attraction, which only increases when he saves Hannah's life after the boat she's snuckinto the bay gets entangled in illegal netting. Then Vanessa shows up. OnceMike's connection to the developers becomes known, his popularity plummets.Learning from Kathleen that his plans might put Hannah at risk, Mike wakes upand tries to right the situation, first with Vanessa's help and then on hisown, whatever the sacrifice to career or love. Meanwhile, standard-issueVictim-with-a-capitol-V heroine Liza faces the demons of her past in attemptingto stop the development. Of course, virtue, innocence and love win out over greedand shallow sophistication.The wit and nuanced shadings ofMoyes' best are unfortunately missing in this predictable tear-jerker, a paleecho of the 1983 film Local Hero.
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September 1, 2014
Silver Bay is a tiny Australian coastal town, where the main industry is whale watching. Liza McCullen has moved home to her Aunt Kathleen's Silver Bay Hotel, bringing her ten-year-old daughter with her. Despite the close-knit community, Liza remains intensely private. It all stems from a mysterious trauma she suffered in England years before. Into their circumscribed world comes Mike Dormer, hotshot London developer. His intent is to set up a luxury resort complete with water sports, but as he explores the site without telling anyone who he is, he comes to realize that he's falling in love with Liza. When the locals get wind of a development, Mike also learns of the negative effect it would have on the whales and dolphins in the bay. VERDICT This 2007 novel, now available in the United States, is more traditionally romantic than Moyes's newer work. Fans of her recent blockbuster Me Before You may find this book less powerfully engaging. Its strengths lie in the author's apt characterizations and evocation of place. It will likely be of interest to Moyes fans and those who enjoy a solid romance.--Melanie Kindrachuk, Stratford P.L., Ont.
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