Short Take: “The Girl From the Sea”, Shalini Boland

Pros: Really annoying characters
Cons: Interesting wrap-up
Rating: 3 out of 5

Shalini Boland’s The Girl from the Sea is not the “gripping psychological thriller” it says it is. A young woman washes up on a beach with retrograde amnesia–she can remember how to row a boat, but doesn’t remember her name, her boyfriend, her family, her job–any of it. Her boyfriend, Piers, identifies her as Mia James, and after a few days she’s allowed to go home. The hope is that there will be more at home to spur memories.

Piers is a sleaze, completely obnoxious. I wish Mia had kicked him to the curb right away, even though I get why she didn’t. (She still hoped he’d help her get her memories back.) I think the reason it annoyed me more than usual is that virtually all of the characters (except for the police, who don’t show up often) are hideous assholes with nothing better to do than be all catty with each other and try to ruin each others’ lives.

The mystery didn’t feel tense at all. There were a limited number of suspects. There’s some character material that redeemed the book to some extent, but I still didn’t find this a very good read.

 
NOTE: Free book provided by publisher in return for review