Sophie Honeywell unexpectedly inherits a house from the late aunt of her ex-boyfriend and moves to Scribbly Gum Island, where the only inhabitants are the a large family, who (more or less) take Sophie into their fold.
Scribbly Gum Island is the scene of an old mystery – in the 1930s, local couple Alice and Jack Munro disappeared, leaving their very young baby. Sisters Connie and Ruth Doughty found the baby and took her in, naming her Enigma. Alice and Jack were never found and as a result, the Doughty family have made a huge business out of the mystery, with tours of the house, yearly anniversaries and lots of other merchandise for visitors to the island to spend their money on.
Although the 1930s storyline is told entirely from memories (we never ‘meet’ Alice and Jack), it intertwines neatly with the current day storyline, which revolves around Sophie’s lack of love life, and the individual problems of the rest of the family. Enigma’s granddaughter Grace and her husband Callum have recently had their first baby, and Grace feels trapped; she plans on a drastic solution to her problems. Veronika, Grace’s granddaughter and Grace’s cousin, is extremely resentful of the fact that Connie left her house to Sophie, and makes no bones about it! Veronika’s mother Margie is trapped in a stale marriage with the (frankly revolting) Ron, but maybe her Weight Watchers meetings will bring new meaning and fun to her life. And Sophie is just trying to navigate these new waters and get along in a new family. She is also worried about the fact that she is approaching 40 and still single.
I listened to the audiobook of this novel, narrated well by Caroline Lee, and overall I did enjoy it. I was initially intrigued by the Alice and Jack mystery, but I actually guessed the ending about halfway through, and ended up more interested in the current day family dynamic. I did feel that a lot of the characters were so exaggerated as to be almost caricatures, and were not actually that likeable, but I did feel for Grace (why oh why could nobody see what was staring them in the face?? Grace clearly had post-natal depression and anybody reading/listening to this book would probably be able to spot that straight away. I also liked her aunt Margie and rooted for her probably more than any other character. Sophie was one of those characters that you quite like, while simultaneously wanting to shake her and tell her to grow up. Veronika was hateful in the beginning, and as already mentioned, Margie’s husband Ron was a horrible man who didn’t deserve such a loyal wife. Also – I couldn’t warm to Enigma at all. She struck me as a self-absorbed and quite mean spirited lady.
I liked the ending – as I said earlier, I did guess the mystery behind the missing couple, but I thought Sophie’s story had a lovely and unexpected ending. I also loved Margie’s storyline which again was somewhat unexpected.
Overall, I would say that this is an enjoyable and undemanding read/listen. I thought it went on possibly a bit too long, and could have done with some editing in places, but basically not too much to complain about. I would certainly try more books by this author.
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