I really did struggle to choose between 4 and 5 stars for this book, but ultimately I finished it yesterday and I still miss it today, so that decided it!
This book is a beautifully-written, atmospheric story with all the elements of an excellent adventure - a murder mystery and arctic adventure all rolled into one, with the added elements of family dynamics that round it out and make it a proper story.
I loved Caro as a character - strong, smart, self-aware and an all-round good egg. Martha had wonderful character development throughput the book, and her relationship that is explored with Eugenia really fills her out as a character. I found Alasdair a little lacking in personality but, hey, there are people like that so thumbs up for realism!
One error made by the author was a little jarring (having a character refer to Alasdair when he wasn't born yet) but I could get past it - ultimately this was a book I was prepared to forgive (almost) anything, as it was such a joy to read. If you haven't yet...do it!
This book is a beautifully-written, atmospheric story with all the elements of an excellent adventure - a murder mystery and arctic adventure all rolled into one, with the added elements of family dynamics that round it out and make it a proper story.
I loved Caro as a character - strong, smart, self-aware and an all-round good egg. Martha had wonderful character development throughput the book, and her relationship that is explored with Eugenia really fills her out as a character. I found Alasdair a little lacking in personality but, hey, there are people like that so thumbs up for realism!
One error made by the author was a little jarring (having a character refer to Alasdair when he wasn't born yet) but I could get past it - ultimately this was a book I was prepared to forgive (almost) anything, as it was such a joy to read. If you haven't yet...do it!