1943: The world is at war, and the villagers of Tyneham are being asked to make one more sacrifice: to give their homes over to the British army. But on the eve of their departure, a terrible act will cause three of them to disappear forever.
2018: Melissa had hoped a break on the coast of Dorset would rekindle her stagnant relationship, but despite the idyllic scenery, it’s pushing her and Liam to the brink. When Melissa discovers a strange photograph of a woman who once lived in the forgotten local village of Tyneham, she becomes determined to find out more about her story. But Tyneham hides a terrible secret, and Melissa’s search for the truth will change her life in ways she never imagined possible.
Many thanks to Avon Books UK via NetGalley for my copy of The Forgotten Village to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Forgotten Village is the début novel from Lorna Cook and what an impressive story it was that awaited me between the pages of a book with a haunting and intriguing cover. This is a dual timeline story but one which is very closely interwoven, the period over which the events take place is very brief. A matter of days in both storylines and I think this really helped with keeping the plot moving forward and the reader wasn't kept guessing or things too drawn out as to what was happening or going to happen within the next chapter or two. Admittedly I found the first few chapters a bit slow as they were really just setting the scene and I was become used to the characters and the times in which they lived but once I settled into the story I found myself intrigued and my interest was certainly piqued.
The Forgotten Village merges fact with fiction and it was evident the author had undertaken extensive research in order to portray the characters, setting and plot as realistically as possible. Set between several days in 1943 and then 75 years later in 2018 the past and present merge and flow together seamlessly as we weave back and forth between Veronica and Melissa. Two women separated by many years but yet Melissa feels a deep connection to Veronica and is determined to find out what just did happen in the days leading up to one village becoming a ghost town as the villagers sacrificed their homes for the war effort.
The brief prologue really set the tone for the remainder of the novel as Lady Tyneham, Veronica, stands alongside her husband Sir. Albert as he addresses the villagers one last time before the village is given over to the British army to use as a training base for the D-Day landings. The reader can instantly tell that Veronica is a bundle of nerves and you would be forgiven for thinking it is because she too has to leave her home but as the story unfolds it becomes clear that all is not as it seems in the marriage of Lord and Lady Tyneham. 75 years later Melissa is on holiday in Dorset with her boyfriend Liam who has a holiday home in the village. She feels she has been abandoned and ignored. Her feelings are never taken into consideration with Liam preferring to do his own thing. Surely this is a disaster waiting to happen.
Left to her own devices as Liam spends most of his days surfing and having little to do Melissa embarks on her own little day trips and stumbles across the reopening of Tyneham village as a tourist spot having never been given back to the original inhabitants despite promises made that that would be the case. As Melissa explores the village on a warm day she becomes fascinated by the story of a community displaced. Where did they all go? How did they all feel? She meets historian Guy Cameron who is there to reopen the village. Well really he was like the prince saving the damsel in distress when they first meet and I thoroughly enjoyed the friendship that was soon struck up between the pair and fervently hoped it would develop into something more especially as a few truths come to light re. Liam and he is soon shown the door.
Over several days as Melissa and Guy explore the village and visit an exhibition in the old school house a photo catches Melissa eye. There is something about the woman in the photo which Melissa is drawn to. She wants more than anything to find out what happened to her once she left the village. She soon realises it is Veronica, Lady Tyneham, and what follows is a fascinating and gripping story of Melissa and Guy unravelling the past. As Guy's grandmother Anna was a maid to Veronica, Melissa thinks she will get plenty of answers but Anna is not giving much away which only makes Melissa's feelings of anxiety surrounding the intensify. At first I did think why was Melissa so obsessed with finding out what happened to Veronica especially as she herself had no background in history. It's only as she digs deeper, working her way around many walls and stumbling blocks that her motivations become apparent. She sees many comparisons between her own mother and Veronica and hopes that things did turn out OK for the lady of the house.
I did really enjoy the parts of the story set in 2018 but it's the storyline set in 1943 which really caught my attention as I became lost in Veronica's story. The title led me to believe that there would be a character who uncovers a lost village but instead it's the reopening of the village which leads to long buried secrets being exposed and in doing so Melissa hopes to right many wrongs. Although everything occurs over a matter of days the author managed to pack so much in and this was all done without anything ever feeling rushed through or little silly things being flung into the story just for the sake of it. In fact the tension just increased with each chapter and the reader is left thinking that there is nothing but inevitability surrounding the outcome for the Tyneham's.
Lorna Cook did a brilliant job of painting a picture of a trapped woman on the cusp of breaking free yet she is thwarted at every corner. Being forced to leave one's home is very traumatic but for Veronica this is the opportunity she has been waiting for. It soon becomes very apparent that she has been trapped in a loveless, volatile and dangerous relationship. I couldn't fathom how Veronica had got herself caught up with Bertie or did she just go into the marriage with blinkers on? Now was her chance to escape his clutches and the scene is set for her to slip away n the day the villagers are set to leave Tyneham for what they believe to be but a short period. But things are sent to test her. Will she be able to break free?
Veronica was a character who had endured so much at the hands of Bertie and I could see that streak of independence within her waiting to break free. She had had more than enough and wanted to escape from the mental shackles and physical hardship she had suffered for far too long. But once Bertie gets the knife in and keeps twisting it he really doesn't give up without a fight. With the arrival of an unexpected visitor Veronica's plans are thrown into disarray and what follows is a very tense and dramatic story which will keep readers on the edge of their seats. You desperately want a positive outcome for Veronica but can't see how it can come about. I didn't at any stage judge her or think she was making rash decisions because the tide of her plans had turned. Instead I was rooting for her every step of the way. She was clever and intuitive but Bertie was always one step ahead of her. Given the little snippets that Melissa and Guy slowly start to uncover in the modern day, and what we come to understand through the events of 1943, one wonders how did certain things come about. But Lorna Cook had numerous surprises in store for her readers.
Bertie is the character whom every reader will dislike immensely. I had not one ounce of sympathy for him he didn't deserve it in the slightest. Hatred, fear, malice and brutality oozed from his every pore and I thought his justifications for being this way better be good if indeed he had any at all. Monster is the word I continuously thought of when reading scenes featuring Bertie. He created a life of threats, pain and despair for Veronica and quite honestly some of their scenes were hard to read at times being very detailed and not with holding any of the horrors Veronica endured. Veronica deserved happiness but how could she possibly succeed in escaping? Lorna Cook expertly built the tension and unease and you just knew this big bubbling pot was going to explode in dramatic fashion at some point and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. In fact how Lorna ties the past to the present was so cleverly done and I was majorly surprised by the big twist and I was kicking myself that I hadn't spotted the clues or joined up the dots as on reflection they really were there for me to see.
Lorna Cook did really make you feel as if you had travelled back in time but yet I felt just as present with Melissa as I did with Veronica. I was glad this wasn't your typical wartime saga story as instead the focus shifted and centred on what was happening in the everyday lives of one affluent family as the war raged around them. Having the focus on just a specific few characters really helped to tighten the story and didn't allow for rambling or going off track from the main plot. Every character was well utilised, every conversation that took place was necessary and I never felt there was any filling in of pages just for the sake of it. Without doubt The Forgotten Village is an accomplished first novel with a masterfully woven storyline. I sense though that this is barely the tip of the iceberg as to what Lorna Cook can do and I really am looking forward to her next book already. In the meantime I wouldn't hesitate in recommending The Forgotten Village.
Sounds great Emma.
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