Sara MacDonald (1)

Sea music is a book you’ll want to read when you have time to savor the descriptive flow of the words and unravel the heart of this mystery. It starts in the beautiful landscape of current day Cornwall where the mother and father are both in their twilight years and slowly succumbing to memory loss. They look back on their earlier lives and how WW2 changed them; while their adult son, daughter and granddaughter deal with making sense of their past and present circumstances. There are so many secrets and so much miscommunication or non-communication that they need to deal with after some hidden documents are found. A mysterious man is following the daughter, and new young caretaker enters their life and adds more dimension to the story. Highly recommend.… (mehr)

This historical novel is a slow moving story concerning an English wife and mother named Gabriella/Gabby. Her 2 kids are in college and her husband Mike has worked in foreign countries their entire married life. Near their 25th anniversary, Mike asks Gabby to join him in Karachi, Pakistan where he will begin a job in the airline industry. As a book translator Gabby can work anywhere in the world and email her work to her employer. She decides to go to Karachi. I thought this was a wrong decision but I guess Gabby was trying to connect with Mike who she has only seen on summer holidays.

When Gabby arrives in Karachi she is both shocked and amazed at the noise of the city and the cultural divide between the sexes. However, she needed a new experience in her life and Gabby quickly accepted the country as is. Her openness to the culture gains her several new female friends. Gabby finds that that she is closer to these women emotionally than she was to her friends in England.

The story alternates between the present day Pakistan and the 1970s Cornwall where Gabby grew up with sister Dominique. Dominque holds a family secret that is revealed midway into the story. This reveal has no bearing on the main plot and the alternating plot was unnecessary. The book is about Gabby growing as a person and this childhood story has no effect on the present day story. Dominique was a fantastic character and could have been used in the plot differently.

There isn't much action. The book is about Gabby's growth as a person. I found this appealing though. 3 out of 5 stars.… (mehr)

The Hour Before Dawn is the story of two generations which is told in the details of traumatic events in 1976 and the present day. Unusually there are two heroines in this novel, Fleur Montrose and her estranged daughter Nikki. The two women have been torn apart by a mysterious tragedy in Malaysia when Nikki was 5, as well as the early loss of Fleur’s husband, Nikki’s father David.

The story also goes back to 1966 when 15 year old, Fleur met army officer, David in Singapore. For me, having lived in Singapore at this time, this part of the tale didn't ring true, but later scenes, particularly of Malaysia, reminded me of the sights and smells and the contrast between busy towns and the peace of the beach houses at Port Dickson.

Fleur’s flawed relationship, both with her mother and her daughter seem to stem from her selfish, single-minded behaviour but later it becomes evident that she has concealed a troubling secret to protect her family. In addition they have to cope with the mysterious disappearance of Nikki’s twin sister Saffie in 1966 and Fleur’s remarriage after her first husband’s death.

Now a widow once more and writing a dissertation as a mature student, Fleur sets out for New Zealand on a trail of Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s architecture. She intends to stay with her daughter Nikki, who is expecting a baby with partner Jack. But Fleur does not turn up. She has disappeared while stopping over at Singapore. Reluctantly Nikki and Jack set out to look for Fleur. In Singapore they meet Inspector Mockter who discovers that Fleur has taken a train and bus to Port Dickson in Malaysia, the place where Saffie was last seen.

In the course of the story we eventually come to understand what happened to Saffie and why Fleur behaved oddly. Inspector Mockter has a special rapport with Nikki which helps her to cope with an impossible situation, while heavily pregnant.

Sara MacDonald is a talented writer. She deals with complex family relationships and their breakdown very effectively. There is a strong sense of place in Port Dickson and the Bay of Islands in New Zealand. There are a few editing issues, especially with the spelling of places in Singapore but I am just being picky since they don't affect the content of a tremendous story of loss and hope.
… (mehr)