by Zoe Somerville
SYNOPSIS Summer, 1952. Verity Frost, stranded on her family farm on the Norfolk coast, is caught between two worlds: the devotion of her childhood friend Arthur, just returned from National Service, and a strange new desire to escape it all. Arthur longs to escape too, but only with Verity by his side.
Into their world steps Jack, a charismatic American pilot flying secret reconnaissance missions off the North Sea coast. But where Verity sees adventure and glamour, Arthur sees only deception. As the water levels rise to breaking point, this tangled web of secrets, lies and passion will bring about a crime that will change all their lives.
Taking the epic real-life North Sea flood as its focus, The Night of the Flood is at once a passionate love story, an atmospheric thriller, and a portrait of a distinctive place in a time of radical social change.
REVIEW In 1952, Verity is living on her family’s farm in Norfolk. She is struggling to move on after the death of her mother and is feeling pressured to continue a relationship with her childhood friend Arthur. With so much uncertainty surrounding her future, when Verity meets Jack (a pilot working at an American airbase nearby), she gets swept up in the idea of running away and starting a new life with him.
However, Verity is forced to hide their relationship, knowing that neither Arthur, her father nor her brother would approve. As the succession of secrets and lies begin to escalate, Verity is left wondering if Jack really is who he says he is or if he is holding back something sinister from his past. Then, during the storm and the resulting floods the following winter, a shocking event takes place that will change their lives forever.
I love reading historical thrillers and I have read a lot of books set during WW1 and WW2 but this is the first book I have read set during the Cold War period. The crime and thriller elements were not as forthright as I was expecting. It’s more of a slow-paced story, layering up the different experiences of the characters until the major event which takes place on the night of the flood. But, I thought that the setting and characterisation was brilliant, the story really transported me to the 1950s and I got a real sense of the political and personal tension throughout the book.
A great choice for any historical fiction fans and an impressive debut novel from Zoe Somerville.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zoe Somerville is a writer and English teacher. Having lived all over the world – Japan, France, Washington – she now lives in Bath with her family. After completing a creative writing MA at Bath Spa, Zoe started writing her debut novel, which is inspired by her home county, Norfolk, and the devastating North Sea flood of the 1950s.
Thanks to @HoZ_Books and @zessomerville for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Historical thriller / Literary thriller
Product format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1838934606
Pages: 352 pp
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