Product Description

It is 1940. The world is at war and the lives of two English boys are about to be changed forever. Jonathan Hicks, heir to the Cornish estate of Goonzoyle, and Ted Johns, son of the estate's groundskeeper, find themselves floating in an icy Atlantic Ocean, clinging to the wreckage of the doomed SS City of Benares. The ship was carrying British evacuee children to a new home, but as it made its perilous way to the USA it was torpedoed by a German U-boat. Jonathan and Ted have been thrown together in spite of their different backgrounds, but as the chance of rescue ebbs further away, it becomes clear only one can survive. It is 2001. At her home in Cornwall, bestselling writer Jessica Mann is busy researching her book about the wartime evacuation of children, Out of Harm's Way, when she is contacted by Connie, Ted Johns' sister, who has recently bought the derelict manor house at Goonzoyle. Jessica is drawn into playing detective to discover what really happened aboard the SS City of Benares, and why that brief moment in history is the key to present events. Matters take a decidedly sinister turn when human bones are discovered at Goonzoyle, and Jessica is hurled into a race to uncover the secrets that bind the Hicks and Johns families together.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #334909 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'Absorbing reading' Sunday Telegraph 'Sparkling, sardonic and refreshingly original - a thoroughly accomplished piece' Sunday Times

Customer Reviews

A confusing story
First of all, the idea of a real author inserting herself into the plot of her novel just didn't work for me. It obviously raises questions about how much of the novel is true. I assume that the plot is complete fiction so why introduce her real life persona into it?

I found the action and characters hard to follow which is ridiculous in a 280 page book. I have read novels by Dickens, Victor Hugo and Tolstoy, including War and Peace, without a problem. In this book, I had to keep looking back to find out who people were. Characters didn't come over with distinctive personalities although too many of them did appear to have some degree of neurosis.

This is the first book I've read by Jessica Mann and I won't read another.

Confusing, rambling and predictable.
This book wasn't an easy read. The (mainly female) protagonists were hard to differentiate and after the first few chapters I asumed "the plot can't be this obvious" and I continued reading in the hope that I was wrong... I wasn't. The only people who don't seem to have spotted what's going on are the characters themselves.

The characters are dominated by menopausal women and their daughters. I assume that this book is aimed at women readers although I can't imagine that they will have any more success remembering which middle-aged woman was doing what and when. Having similar names, ages and backgrounds doesn't help either.

All in all a disappointing read. I stuck through to the end with the hope that it would improve, or twist or surprise and it failed to achieve any of my these.