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THE WINTER SEA by Susanna Kearsley ~ A Reader's Opinion

Updated: Feb 3, 2020



A READER'S OPINION

Powerful, engrossing, and wonderfully spectacular! In THE WINTER SEA, bestselling author Carrie McClelland departs her original plans to research her next book in France. Instead, she finds herself in Cruden Bay on the shores of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The cottage she lets is as fascinating as Slains Castle, a place with which she feels an undeniable and haunting pull. Two interesting sons, their charming father, a doctor eager to offer historical insight, and a setting so beautifully depicted I felt as though I walked along the shore with Carrie.

THE WINTER SEA is essentially two stories in one, one historical and one contemporary. It's a bit of a marathon compared to her other books I've read thus far, and it's worth every second and page. The historical part of the story is in third person and follows one of Carrie's ancestors. The contemporary is in first person from Carrie's point of view, and as I've said before, this author writes first-person narrative better than anyone I've ever read . . . in my opinion. There's so much to share about this book, yet to reveal anything would almost be to reveal too much.

I'm working my way through Susanna Kearsley's impressive work of fiction, books that don't fit neatly into any one genre, something I love about her work. I know what to expect, yet there are always surprises. Mariana and The Shadowy Horses are by far my favorites, though THE WINTER SEA is just as marvelous in how it's written and the superb use of detail. Susanna Kearsley continues to impress.

Rating: 5 Stars | Content Rating: 1 Heart | Reviewed by: MK McClintock

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

History has all but forgotten...

In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.

But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth—the ultimate betrayal—that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her...

Genre: Multi-Genre Fiction | Pub Date: December 1, 2010 (Reprint) | Page count: 544pp

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark | Format Read: Paperback | Source: From the reviewer's personal library.

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