BOOKS by KATE BRIDGER

Imagine a tragedy so profound that it renders a couple incapable of experiencing pure joy ever again trapping them in symbiotic misery for the rest of their days. Such is the story of Jason and Margaret whose daughter is killed in an unsolved hit and run accident on a dark and rainy night on a narrow lane in Sussex, England.

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On the other side of the globe, Sophie, a middle-aged Canadian woman is adjusting to recent widowhood after her husband lost his battle with cancer.

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The lives of this disparate threesome converge on the small island of Guernsey in the English Channel. Guernsey is an island weighed down by more than its own fair share of grief and tragedy but, along with its people, it remains an inspiring example of endurance, survival and restoration. Sadly, however, Sophie’s well-intended encounters with Jason and Margaret inadvertently expose soul-destroying secrets that even the island cannot heal.

The story is set primarily in Guernsey, an island I visited in 2015. Like my character, Sophie, I fell in love with the place … soaked up the sun and the rain with equal enthusiasm, walked the country lanes, visited the museums, drank the beer and thoroughly enjoyed the people I encountered. Many novels have been set on the island of Guernsey and it is easy to see why.  With its bucolic scenery and coastal views, its history, its struggles, its faeries and its mythology, there’s plenty to fuel a creative imagination. It is a compact island, ideal for compact tales … and this is one.

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Want to see some of Sophie's holiday photos from Guernsey? Click here for a visual companion to your reading.