Day: September 2, 2019

The Orphan of Salt Winds

Author: Elizabeth Brooks
Published: January 15, 2019
293 Pages

Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars

Book Description:

England, 1939:

Ten-year-old Virginia Wrathmell arrives at Salt Winds, a secluded house on the edge of a marsh, to meet her adoptive parents—practical, dependable Clem and glamorous, mercurial Lorna. The marsh, with its deceptive tides, is a beautiful but threatening place. Virginia’s new parents’ marriage is full of secrets and tensions she doesn’t quite understand, and their wealthy neighbor, Max Deering, drops by too often, taking an unwholesome interest in the family’s affairs. Only Clem offers a true sense of home. War feels far away among the birds and shifting sands—until the day a German fighter plane crashes into the marsh, and Clem ventures out to rescue the airman. What happens next sets into motion a crime so devastating it will haunt Virginia for the rest of her life. Seventy-five years later, she finds herself drawn back to the marsh, and to a teenage girl who appears there, nearly frozen and burdened by her own secrets. In her, Virginia might have a chance at retribution and a way to right a grave mistake she made as a child.  

Kim’s Review:

That description is amazing, is it not?? I was so excited to pick this up, we ended up making it our neighborhood book club pick for the month. The cover is also beautiful: simplistic and appropriate for the story. Brooks did a great job of keeping me on the hook. Just when she was about to give up some new info, the chapter ended and the timeline changed and I had to wait for another chapter to go by.

The setting was perfect; the marsh dark and mysterious. The characters were realistic and added to the tension very well. I don’t want to give much away but unfortunately the payoff just wasn’t there. I was very unsatisfied with the ending. It was all set up so perfectly. The mystery, the disappearance, the setting, the child . . .  It was all so fascinating and I couldn’t wait to see how it all unfolded, and then it just didn’t. I was sad and disappointed! I wouldn’t change the journey to the end, but the end definitely needed more! But, I still really liked this book and would recommend it to those who like historical fiction.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK