A Sea of Unspoken Things
When James’s twin brother Johnny dies, she can feel it. It’s not just twintuition; she sees his final view of dappled light through the trees. She feels the bullet wound to the chest. Not too long after she drives from San Francisco, where she’s made her life for the past two decades, back to her hometown of Six Rivers in the mountains of northern California. She suspects there’s more to Johnny’s death than a hunting accident gone wrong; he’s too experienced and careful for that to be the case. He never would have been in the gorge without safety gear on. When James arrives, she must also confront her past and all the reasons she left home including her friendship/something more with Micah, the death of a high school soccer-star, Griffin, and her brother’s on-again, off-again ex-girlfriend, Sadie.
I’ve enjoyed Adrienne Young’s prior adult releases, but also wished for something more. She blends genres in a way that makes me wish the book could be a little bit longer or that there would be slightly more romance or slightly more mystery, etc. Although I liked this one marginally less than June Farrow or Spells, I think she succeeded in breaking through that qualm for me here. She leaned more heavily into mystery for this one and that worked particularly well.
I loved the beautiful setting and signature atmospheric writing style. I appreciated the way James’s character really grappled with her past, explored her thoughts about her brother–did she really know Johnny or had she been protecting him her entire life?, and evaluated her future and whether the life she’s built has been serving her.
Overall, Adrienne Young is an author I’ll continue to read and whose works I eagerly anticipate.
Some favorite quotes:
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This book contains vague romantic content, nearly-fade to black.
This book is available through Book of the Month Club. Join with my referral link, and get your first monthly selection for $5. Then add this one to your box for $11.99.
