Today I’m posting my 5-Star review of The Girl from the Sea, by Shalini Boland, a suspenseful and gripping, psychological thriller.
The Girl from the Sea is a gripping, psychological thriller, which has the reader guessing how the tale will end until the very last line.
Mia is found on the beach, disoriented and not knowing who she is or why she’s on the beach. It’s classified as an accident by the police. She’s finally dismissed from hospital and allowed to go home when her boyfriend recognises her.
But, who is Mia? She doesn’t even recognise her reflection in the mirror. Although there are some disjointed flashbacks, her memory doesn’t improve until the last few chapters, so for most of the novel, Mia is forced to gradually decipher her life with the help of her boyfriend, Jack, from the rowing club she belonged to, neighbours, and her mother and half sister.
Mia soon realises that everyone is lying to her, or using her, for different reasons. And as she tries to piece her life back together, another woman’s body is found, this time in the river, and the police start to link both events. As a result, the action escalates and Mia realises that she’s in danger.
The novel is narrated in the first person, by Mia. I listened to the audio version on audible, and as most of it is written in the present tense, it was like watching a film, because all the actions were vividly portrayed. This gave immediacy and urgency to the narration. The first part is slower than the second part, but the pace is quite steady.
Even after the events are explained and Mia’s memory returns, there are stills twists, the last one is quite shocking. Although the end is distressing, and there are plenty of unlikeable characters, and one quite evil person, it was an enjoyable read.
****
Shalini Boland lives in Dorset, England with her husband and two noisy boys. Before kids, she was signed to Universal Music Publishing as a singer/songwriter, but now she spends her days writing suspense thrillers and dark adventures (in between doing the school run and hanging out endless baskets of laundry).
****
I look forward to reading her new novel, coming 27th April 2017: The Millionaire’s Wife – another compelling psychological thriller.
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Rereading Jane Eyre 
Lovely review, Luccia. Sounds like an exciting read.
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Thank you, Shelley. It’s gripping with a terrible twist…
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