Saturday, July 19, 2014

NORTH SEA COTTAGE by DORTE HUMMELSHOJ JAKOBSEN






I've read books in the Rhapsody Gershwin series by this author, and I was glad to receive this novella featuring Tora Skammelsen, a writer.  The Gershwin stories are witty with characters who have funny names.  They are lighthearted, great fun to read.

North Sea Cottage is quite different.  Tora Skammelsen has just left her husband and isn't in a good frame of mind.  Her mother and sister hover annoyingly; they want her to do things their way but she wants some time to think.  She writes historical fiction and has accepted the use of her aunt's small cottage near the sea since her aunt is in a nursing home due to a broken hip.  The only caveat is that Tora must not for any reason go into the stable there.

She arrives just in time for a big storm.  The power goes out and fortunately she finds plenty of candles, but then lightning strikes the stable and sets it on fire.  After the firemen extinguish the fire the stable is completely open so Tora goes in to look around.  What she finds in a cellar under a trap door is so shocking it sets her off on a mission to solve a mystery involving her family's past.

I was fascinated, and also fooled until almost the end.  This is, to my mind, Jakobsen's finest writing yet.  I'm looking forward to more about this heroine, hopefully soon.

Highly recommended
Source:  Gift from a friend via Smashwords

No comments:

Post a Comment