This week is book review week on It’s Just Life with a day off for Comments for a Cause. I am going to be sharing some books I have read for review and some I have read because I was intrigued by them. It’s always a great thing to get free books for review but sometimes I find that I have to have a balance of books that I read just for no reason other than I want to read it. Such is the case with today’s book – The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth.
This was a March 2023 Book of the Month book club selection. I love my Book of the Month subscription and have found that when one arrives I usually devour it. This one got shelved because life has been busy lately, but once I started it I could not put it down. While it did not get my coveted 5 star rating, it received a 4 star and that is a pretty good rating.
Gabe and Pippa Gerard bought their dream house and began their life with their two daughters in a gorgeous setting. The house is located in a beautiful area a couple hours from Melbourne on cliffs that grace the landscape. But the cliffs are dangerous and an area they can see from their house, The Drop, has become a popular place for individuals who have given up on life to come to end theirs.
Gabe has developed somewhat of an occupation of sorts of reaching out to these folks and talking them out of this drastic decision. It’s become his gift and the whole town knows it. Until he fails.
As this domestic thriller unfolds, questions arise. Was there more to the visit than was first imagined? Was there a connection to the woman that lost her life that day to the cliffs? Why was she there? Why was Gabe unsuccessful in talking her down like he had previously in numerous cases? Why did Gabe have his hands held up in a particular way when Pippa saw the woman fall to her death?
Author Sally Hepworth is a skilled story teller and as this complicated story unfolds, the reader gets a glimpse into the lives of many of the people that live in the town as well as Gabe’s own family. This twisty thriller is well written and judging from the fact that I read it in practically one sitting ( I am on beach time right now) should give you an idea of how compelling it was to read. The story is told in alternating voices and time periods (then and now) and while that may sound confusing, it works. It truly works. Not that I didn’t want to jump ahead to the now part – but I was held captive by the story and found the ending satisfyingly good.
It is not one of those books that you have to sit and think about, not likely to be a literary work to be remembered for its heaviness, but instead, a nice escape book to cleanse the palate after reading some more serious historical novel type fiction.
Two thumbs up for this one. Have you read it? I would love to hear. your thoughts so don’t forget to Comment for a Cause for Copeland Oaks Library.
