Reviewed by Emma Crowley
‘Dear Diary, I have so much to keep secret. Maybe I am cruel to leave. But I have no choice…’
Thirty-one-year old Clara’s family have called their cosy cottage in the grounds of Brellasham Manor ‘home’ her whole life. And when River, the owner’s son, returns after sixteen years away, at first Clara is wary. They shared their first kiss as teenagers before River moved halfway around the world, and his soulful brown eyes look just the same.
Clara’s first heartache isn’t the only memory overshadowing the manor. More than fifty years ago, Audrey Brellasham lived here as a young bride and filled the house with love, laughter and dancing. Until one night, she walked into the stormy sea and was never seen again.
When Clara finds Audrey’s old leather-bound diary tucked away, she’s certain that deciphering the coded messages inside will reveal the secret truth about this mysterious woman. And as River helps her explore Audrey’s locked attic bedroom, preserved from the night she disappeared and filled with her beautiful ballgowns, they’re soon laughing together and forgetting all the reasons they drifted apart.
But when River’s father announces the manor, and the cottage, will be sold to developers, Clara’s mother is devastated that everything she knows and loves is disappearing. And with the elderly owner clamming up at any mention of the past, it seems Audrey’s story is lost forever.
But if Clara keeps searching, will she be able to save her mother’s home? Or will solving the secrets of the diary tear apart River’s family, and destroy any chance of happiness between them?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Diary at the Last House Before the Sea to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Diary at the Last House Before the Sea is the seventh in the Heaven’s Cove series by Liz Eeles but as with all the books in this series it is easily read as a standalone story. I’ve read each of the books as they are published and I have to say this is the one of the best yet. There was a real sense of mystery throughout the book. The ghosts of the past swirled around Brellasham Manor as the events of the past are determined to rear their heads. Once again the setting of Heaven’s Cove is perfect and idyllic with its charm and small coastal village feel surrounded by countryside and even more so that the manor is situated right next to the sea with it’s own private cove. The cover is stunning and evocative of the themes and plot and as soon as I read that very intriguing prologue I knew I was in for a very good read and the lovely writing style, character and plot development made this all the more enjoyable.
September 1957 and Audrey lives a life of privilege, luxury and wealth but she also has her secrets. With the lights shining from the manor behind her, she walks into the sea leaving her husband Edwin and stepson Geoffrey behind her. But as she does so she realises she had forgotten to destroy her diary which was privy to her innermost thoughts and secrets. But it’s too late now and the repercussions of this night will reverberate for many years to come right down to the present. I instantly wanted to know what brought Audrey to this point and could there have been any other way to freedom for her except for the path that she chose to take?
In the present day we are introduced to Clara whose mother Julie has been housekeeper for Geoffrey at the manor for many years. They live in a cottage in the grounds of the manor, Clara having moved back there when her father fell ill and subsequently died. The manor holds a lot of memories for Clara and she is there now for her mother as she remains emotionally fragile and in need of support. But times are changing at the manor and River, the son of Geoffrey, has been called back from Australia where he has been ever since his mother took him away. Clara knew River very well having grown up together sharing many happy times and experiences but there is a bitterness about her regarding the way that he left and severed all contact. How will she react now that he is back and with his cousin Bartie in tow?
Geoffrey, River’s father, was very much a closed book throughout the story. He was an aristocrat who led a rich and privileged life but he never seemed happy or able to express his feelings. He wasn’t stone cold by any means but there was a strong sense that the events of his past and losing Audrey in the way in which he did meant that he could never move on. These actions affected how he parented and the divide between himself and River is very evident. Geoffrey maintains a stiff upper lip and is never prone to strong emotion and having little in common with River does nothing to get the ball rolling to mend the rift between the two men. To say theirs is not a close father/son relationship would be an understatement and it is as if Geoffrey as remained in the past whilst the world has moved on around him. He is unemotional, unhappy and lonely and one wonders whether too much water has passed under the bridge for him to recover from the state he has found himself in?
Shocking news emerges with the arrival of River back to Heaven’s Cove, 16 years since he last graced the grounds. Geoffrey has plans to sell the manor as he no longer has the funds to maintain the building. Clara and Julie are bereft as not only will they lose their home but all the memories associated with it. River’s cousin Bartie is there to help with the sale of the house and right from the moment when he was introduced I didn’t like him one bit. There was just something about him. He seemed too exuberant considering the rest of the characters were going through a maelstrom of emotions and the weight of the past bore down on them. He was very much a man about town, eager to get the deal done and heedless to the feelings of those who had lived and worked at the manor for so long. He was very much a player and a manipulator and not one word that came from his mouth could be trusted or taken at face value. I just felt that he wasn’t to be believed at all for the fact that he toyed with people, Clara in particular. That he would say what anyone wanted to hear and didn’t care how much Clara loved the house and that it had been very much a part of her since she was born.
Clara was a force of nature and if there was any way to try and stop the sale of the house she would do it, offering suggestions in order to improve revenue. She never let things drop and this is very much evident when she finds a diary in the possessions of her late Gran, Violet, who was once housekeeper at the manor for Audrey and Edwin. Here is where the elements of the past began to make themselves known and I loved the effortless way in which Liz Eeles melded the past and present together. Finding the diary sets Clara on a quest to try and right a wrong but also she is determined to discover what happened to Audrey that fateful night and similar to a question I had after reading the prologue what drove Audrey to walk into the sea?
A series of numbers and a mysterious note set Clara’s mind racing and I felt from this point on she really came into her own. She did become fixated and obsessed with finding out what happened to Audrey but I didn’t find this to be domineering instead it gave her fire in her belly and it also allowed for the barriers to slowly come down between herself and River. After all they had previously had such a strong friendship that surely echoes of this were still buried deep and waiting to be reignited. They are now like virtual strangers but with a common cause uniting them maybe they can find their way back to each other and see where the road takes them?
I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns that developed as Clara and River dug deeper into the past. River shows his vulnerability and the inner turmoil that he is dealing and it mirrors Geoffrey’s psyche also. Settling past traumas, admitting one’s faults and seeking acceptance and resolution all feature strongly as the plot raced towards its conclusion. I became completely lost in everything that was going and I thought Liz excelled herself with her writing. There was a real sense of growth and maturity about it with no filler in ages or chapters or needless information. It all felt tight and compact but in the best of ways. Seven books into a series things could become a little jaded but this wasn’t the case at all and my love for this series was reignited. It’s definitely one to read this summer with the most perfect epilogue that will bring a smile to your face.
No comments:
Post a Comment