Regular reviewer and TAG member Lynne Dunn reviews Broken Bay by Margaret Hickey.
One of my great joys is beginning a book which quickly tempts me to lock the doors and turn the phone to silent then to curl up in a comfy
chair and read it from start to finish, uninterrupted. For me, at least, Broken Bay was one such book!
Readers react differently to stories, but this was one that picked me up and placed me right in the middle of the action. I found myself 鈥渏ust reading one more chapter鈥� and doing just that at the expense of whatever else I should have been doing.This novel is set in a small fishing town with sink holes and cliff faces overlooking the ocean.聽 It is a place聽 where everyone knows every resident
This is the town that Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti is visiting for a short stay when a tragedy occurs, and he is ordered to assist the police investigation. In the search for a missing well-known sink hole diver, the secrets and mysteries of this town are unveiled. The interactions between the characters and the descriptions of the countryside are so accurately portrayed that the reader feels as though he/she is part of the town, part of the action.
The author, Margaret Hickey, is an award-winning author from Northeast Victoria. She has a PhD in Creative Writing and is very interested in rural life and communities. The main character, Mark Ariti, is the subject of several of her novels, but they are all standalone stories.
As the novel progresses, we learn more of the back story of this police officer, and of his loves and fears. He becomes almost a part of the local population as he works towards solving what proves to be more than one mystery, with all being linked, as can only happen in a small town.
What begins with the recovery of one diver becomes an integral part of the solving of a mystery dating back 20 years with the discovery of another body. Family relationships are explored and tested, old wounds are recovered and examined, and the murder of a town identity uncovers and exposes them all.
The story begins with Mark Ariti鈥檚 fear of the water and his subsequent acquisition of knowledge of sinkholes. During his stay in the town Mark forms friendships with some of the locals, and we, the readers, learn much of his background and family life.
At different stages throughout the story, I thought that I had solved the puzzles, only to be proved wrong. There are twists and turns, and it聽was not until almost the end that the truths lying dormant for over 20 years are revealed.
It is a book that prompted me to buy the other Ariti stories. I felt the need to learn more about this character, and to become more familiar with the author.
Have you read a book, tried a game, or seen a film lately? Tell us what you thought!
Email communications@linkwentworth.org.au or drop a review in at your local office.
