THE ECHOING SHORE by J H Mann

2* Nearly 3* until the end, but then what Kate almost 'allowed' to happen to a loved one who protected her with his life, spoilt the book.

This has half-decent writing, but the writing was abundantly on the wall for 2 reasons - Cornwall and its ties with smuggling, and a certain someone made just a little too prominent. But, not on the wall, pun intentional, for 3 journalists with plenty of experience...

I don't think this is a spoilerish review because so many books have featured Cornwall's long history of smuggling, locals who clam up about it, and who don't like tourists. This has a bit of all three, which was so evident reading through the lines, and because one person was just a little too in focus, a little too friendly, a little too always there, and because blabbing in front of said person carries a cliché often seen, though perhaps here, their gender wasn't typical. The sole red herring of this book was a little too scarlet, not red, which gave this person away as not being the distraction the author attempted.

But, for 3 seasoned journalists to open their mouths in the wrong places, many a time, and with 2 being local, and not to put two and two together and make 4, smacks of suspension of disbelief a little too much. And sorry for all the 'too' and 'little' in this review. I couldn't believe all 3 could be so blind, although the Irish guy was sort of on the right track.

What ruined it for me was the realisation that the most loving, most loyal, most protective entity in this tale had their future written on the wall, too. And yet Kate was blind to this too, allowing something utterly preventable to occur. And she wasn't sorry enough after, didn't grieve enough, didn't hit the bottle enough although she hit it mpte than enough most other times. This ruined what'd been a 3* tale so far. Not sure I'd read more from this author, unfortunately.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Spider Books, for my reading pleasure


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