The Island by Mary Grand
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller, Noir, Suspense
Read: 19th July 2021
Published: 24th June 2021
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The Island - where everyone knows everyone, and secrets are impossible to keep...
‘Be careful, you don’t know them as well as you think. Remember - anyone can kill.’
Juliet has returned to the Isle of Wight from years abroad to visit her sick father and to be reunited with her three sisters – Cassie, a professional musician who seems to have lost her way in life, Mira, who is profoundly deaf, is married to the local vicar but their relationship is falling apart, and Rosalind, glamorous and charming but now deeply unhappy and secretive about her life.
As Juliet’s father lies dying, he issues her with a warning. There is a killer on the loose, and they may be closer than she can ever imagine. He anxiously tells Juliet that he confided a family secret in son-in-law Rhys, and now regrets ever saying a word.
Days later, as the clock strikes one in the morning, a man comes out of Rhys’s church, walks along the path and is run down by a car driven by an unidentified person. When the finger of suspicion points to Juliet, she realises the only way to clear her name is to uncover the secrets her family has been keeping from her for years. But with a killer on the loose, danger is getting closer all the time…
The Island is set on the Isle of Wight - insular, claustrophobic, and where secrets are hard to keep. Mary Grand's heart-stopping who-dunnits are perfect for fans of Louise Candlish. Agatha Christie and Lucy Foley.
MY REVIEW:
I'm excited to be taking part in the #BlogTour for Mary Grand's atmospheric thriller THE ISLAND.
Although this author's first psychological thriller "The House Party" still sits on my shelf, I have yet to delve into it so therefore THE ISLAND is my first foray into the writings of Mary Grand and the simply beautifully atmospheric setting on the Isle of Wight. And what a setting it is! It gave the reader that sense of claustrophobia and foreboding throughout as the pieces of the puzzle are slowly pieced together. THE ISLAND simply drips with domestic tension as twist after twist reveals secrets slowly bubbling to the surface. Shadows in the night. Objects go missing. And then...there's murder.
After two years teaching English in China, Juliet returns home to the Isle of Wight after her father's tragic accident which leaves him clinging to life in hospital. Arriving just in time, her father's last words leave her with more questions than answers as he hints at a past death and issues her with a warning to be careful and to look after her mother and sisters. His last wish was to not give her youngest sister the musical box he had painstakingly made for her upcoming 21st birthday, as he had made each one of his girls. For what reason, she doesn't know. He also cryptically mentioned a key which was just as puzzling to her. But his biggest regret before taking his last breath was that he had confided in her sister Mira's husband Rhys, the local vicar, and feared he made a huge mistake in doing so.
Her father's last words were both alarming and confusing but Juliet feels compelled to respect his wishes and take heed of his warning, whatever it may mean. His death has left a gaping hole in their lives as her mother and sisters are filled with grief, each of them dealing with it in her own way. Mira turns to her husband. Juliet finds comfort in old flame Gabriel. Eldest sister Cassie draws her mother closer whilst keeping the rest of them at arm's length. And the youngest Rosalind escapes the confines of the house and the flood of grief that envelops them there. The complexities of the relationships of the sisters reflect their differences and highlight the fact that each of them are keeping secrets. And then Rhys' strange message at the funeral leaves Juliet with a sense of of unease as well as even more questions.
In the midst of their father's death and subsequent funeral fell Rosalind's 21st birthday which slipped by, not unnoticed, but not celebrated either. That came a week later when the family planned to celebrate her "coming home" with a small family party to honour the day Rosalind came home given the circumstances of her birth were a little unusual, having been unexpectedly born when her mother and Cassie were visiting London. What should have been a happy and enjoyable day ended in heated words. Rhys revealed that he was unable to keep the secret their father had imparted on him any longer and gave the family a chance to talk things over before he revealed the secret himself.
But before he can, Rhys is killed in a tragic hit and run outside his church as he left in the wee hours. Who killed him? And was it only coincidence that it happened on the twenty-first anniversary of another hit and run on the island, when Gabriel's older brother Harry had been killed?
Suddenly Juliet begins to look at her family and all those closest to her in a different light. Who had the most to lose by Rhys revealing the secret? To understand that Juliet knew she had to find out what the secret was first before unmasking who could have killed him. She went over events of the evening in her mind and recalled hearing someone leave the house and seeing a shadow walk out their front gate. But as there are no street lights, all she saw was a shadow and had no way of identifying them. She also recalls seeing a light on in her father's workshed out the back. Who would be in there at midnight? And what on earth would they be doing? And she herself remembered how hot it had been that night and how she couldn't sleep, spending time chatting to Gabriel who video called her several times throughout the night worried about his mother Maddie who had been so sick at the time. What did any of this mean?
Despite everyone's wishes that she leave well enough alone, Juliet begins to investigate. And she soon discovers as secrets and lies begin to come to light, so too does suspicions arise.
I loved the setting of the Isle of Wight. The descriptions, the walks, the beach, the stillness, the storms, the breathtaking beauty...made for an atmospheric thriller with an eeriness and a sense of foreboding. It gave the reader the feeling of claustrophobia with it being an island that could see them cut off from the mainland at any time. And those storms were penultimate in their deliverance.
A domestic thriller of a different kind, THE ISLAND is a slow burn that gradually builds in tension creating an atmosphere that will have you looking over your shoulder as you turn the pages. While not a fan of slow burns especially, this one did hold my interest enough to keep me going until I drawn in completely and unable to put it down. The suspense and the tension are palpable to the point of a compelling need to uncover the truth.
There are plenty of twists to keep the reader guessing the killer's identity throughout. I know I changed my mind several times coming back to my first suspect early on and then the author threw in yet another twist to throw us off yet again. I figured out several of the secrets that had been simmering beneath the surface even if it took Juliet a lot longer to twig to the clues I picked up almost instantly. After one secret is discovered, it leads Juliet in another direction to uncover the truth. Even the reader is questioning how well we really know her sisters? Her mother even? But surely...not murder?
THE ISLAND is filled with mystery, suspense and tension throughout and is perfect for those who enjoy an atmospheric thriller without the graphic descriptions of those more gritty in nature. It's a riveting and completely absorbing read that is intense once it gets going.
And of course, I cannot let this review go by without the mention of Lola, Mira's therapy dog. Although she doesn't play a key part, her presence makes a lovely addition. I also enjoyed the normality in which everyone treated Mira and, despite being profoundly deaf, her ability to lip read and converse through sign and voice was a wonderful touch.
Whilst being a new voice in this genre, I think Mary Grand could be a name to watch for that touch of psychological and domestic noir with the atmospheric setting of the Isle of Wight.
I would like to thank #MaryGrand, #Netgalley, #RachelsRandomResources and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #TheIsland in exchange for an honest review.
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