We travel to Australia and join Gabe and Pippa Wright, who have moved to a small coastal town with their two young daughters, Freya and Asha. Starts out seemingly innocent, with a solid marriage. Pippa is a lawyer who works from home; Gabe is the stay at home parent to the children. He's handsome and charming and madly in love with his wife. Gabe has also become semi-famous for preventing people from jumping off the infamous cliff behind their home. It's a well-known spot for suicides to leap to the rocks below, but Gabe spots them and spends time talking them down and has saved seven lives since they moved into their cottage.
On this day, there's another one. Gabe goes out to talk, while Pippa calls the police (it's their drill). However, this time, she looks up and sees Gabe standing in shock, arms up and hands out--and no person. Did they jump, or were they pushed?
The story is narrated by Pippa and Amanda, before and now. Amanda is the victim, and her "now" is her as a restless spirit who can travel around and sees all that's going on--she's our clue that all is not as it seems. All sorts of stuff begins to be revealed-in both Amanda's marriage to Max, and Pippa's marriage to Gabe. The perfect marriage is anything but, and the two women are connected in one messy knot.
I've got to say this was one soap opera of a ride. Sheesh. I didn't really like any of the main characters: Pippa, Gabe, Max, and Amanda. They're all self-absorbed and certainly Pippa and Amanda make a ton of excuses for poor behavior in their relationships. There's mental illness, underhanded business deals, infidelity, and one heck of a secret that isn't revealed until nearly the end. Honestly, I didn't even care too much for their daughters! Each woman loves their husband so much they're willing to overlook obvious signs and work even harder to make the marriage smooth sailing. Appearances of happy couples on the outside are not the reality on the inside. What really is a soulmate? Does it mean you have to take the bad with the good?
Interesting look at marriage and all the complexities. Also demonstrates the stress of mental illness not only on the one suffering, but those who love and care for them.
Rating: 4/6 for a whiz-bang thriller than has so many oops! reveals I actually said aloud "Oh Come ON!" at one point. It's a quick read, and definitely interesting. I may try another Sally Hepworth novel soon.
Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio.
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