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A review by emmacr2024
The Far Side of the Sun by Kate Furnivall
5.0
Kate Furnivall is back with her seventh book The Far Side of the Sun and it certainly does not disappoint. I am a huge Kate Furnivall fan and eagerly await each new release. So much so that I never even bother to read the blurb to see whether I like the sound of the book or not I just buy it as soon as it comes out. I have to admit to being slightly disappointed with her last offering Shadows on the Nile but am really pleased to say Kate has for me returned to sparkling form with The Far Side of the Sun .I love how Kate’s books are set in such contrasting countries – Russia, Malaya etc and once you start reading you are whisked away on an adventure to such exotic , exciting settings. It’s evident Kate spends a lot of time and effort researching the people and places behind her books and this is what makes her books such enjoyable, engrossing reads.
This book had me hooked right from the opening line and held my attention for several hours’ right until the very last word. It shows how one chance encounter can alter the course of someone’s lie forever and led to devastating consequences. Set in Nassau , the Bahamas against the backdrop of World War Two. It is 1943, Dodie Wyatt is a young girl living alone struggling to make ends meet working as a waitress in a local hotel. She is walking home late one night from work when she stumbles across a man in alleyway who has been stabbed and left for dead. Although she hasn’t much to offer Dodie listens to her conscience and takes the man Mr.Morrell to her beachside shack and attempts to heal his wound. Despite her efforts at saving him Morrell dies and so begins the upheaval of the life Dodie once had. With no other option she reports the murder to the police, but someone is not happy and her house is torched and burns to the ground .Who is out to get Dodie and determined to keep the murder of Morrell a secret? Soon a small act of kindness takes Dodie out of her comfort zone leaving her involved in a dangerous world of secrets, violence and even death.
Ella Sanford comes from such a contrasting world to Dodie. She is married to Reg Sanford who works in the colonial office alongside the governor of the islands -the Duke of Windsor. Ella is trapped in an unhappy marriage where she feels unloved and forgotten, she spends her days helping others on the island with her charity work. But what link has she to Morrell and how can she hep Dodie solve the murder.Ella appeared quite a weak character at the beginning just another one of those women you read about in books who don’t do much except support their men at events and spend their days attending luncheons etc. But as the story progressed Ella exposed her true character one of strength, determination and above all else a woman who is willing to fight for what she believes in and the man she loves the most.
Ella and Dodie are thrown together through the discovery of a gold coin and soon begins a riveting, action packed adventure full of wonderful and at times devious characters in the quest to solve the murder mystery. There is a lot more happening on this small island tropical, magical island than at first appears and bigger players are at work in the murder of Morrell and soon another murder has occurred of the one of the richest men in the world- Harry Oakes. What is happening on this island and who is determined to keep Dodie and Ella quiet at all costs. Dodie and Ella are but small bit players in a much wider picture which if uncovered would cause scandal throughout the island. Dodie meets Flynn who seems to know an awful lot more than he lets on but nonetheless he helps Dodie through several awful experiences. Ella is forced to suffer a bodyguard accompanying her at all times as her husband fears for her safety on the island but soon Dan (the bodyguard) may become more of a comfort than she realises .
The story progressed at a cracking pace, there was never any lull, I loved every word. The murder f Morrell was only the beginning of the unravelling of a much wider serious of events that Dodie may never have been privy to if she had not stopped by a dark alleyway on that fateful night. Just when I thought I had the whole mystery solved and I knew who the murder was and why Kate threw a few spanners in the works which only added to my further enjoyment of the book. I would never have guessed the outcome , it just shows what a clever author Kate is. I loved all the elements of this book- the characters, setting,romance, mystery and the emotions it made me feel and the historical background. It was interesting to read after I had finished the book that some of the characters were real and the murder of Harry Oakes had actually happened. So much so that I had to google Nassau at that time to find out more.If you have never read anything by Kate Furnivall before I urge you to pick up The Far Side of the Sun, it’s a fantastic, rollercoaster read leaving the reader guessing right until the very end. I can’t wait for her next book to be published –not long to wait ‘The Italian Wife’ is out on Kindle in November. When you have read this you then have the pleasure of six more compelling reads from Kate to enjoy.
This book had me hooked right from the opening line and held my attention for several hours’ right until the very last word. It shows how one chance encounter can alter the course of someone’s lie forever and led to devastating consequences. Set in Nassau , the Bahamas against the backdrop of World War Two. It is 1943, Dodie Wyatt is a young girl living alone struggling to make ends meet working as a waitress in a local hotel. She is walking home late one night from work when she stumbles across a man in alleyway who has been stabbed and left for dead. Although she hasn’t much to offer Dodie listens to her conscience and takes the man Mr.Morrell to her beachside shack and attempts to heal his wound. Despite her efforts at saving him Morrell dies and so begins the upheaval of the life Dodie once had. With no other option she reports the murder to the police, but someone is not happy and her house is torched and burns to the ground .Who is out to get Dodie and determined to keep the murder of Morrell a secret? Soon a small act of kindness takes Dodie out of her comfort zone leaving her involved in a dangerous world of secrets, violence and even death.
Ella Sanford comes from such a contrasting world to Dodie. She is married to Reg Sanford who works in the colonial office alongside the governor of the islands -the Duke of Windsor. Ella is trapped in an unhappy marriage where she feels unloved and forgotten, she spends her days helping others on the island with her charity work. But what link has she to Morrell and how can she hep Dodie solve the murder.Ella appeared quite a weak character at the beginning just another one of those women you read about in books who don’t do much except support their men at events and spend their days attending luncheons etc. But as the story progressed Ella exposed her true character one of strength, determination and above all else a woman who is willing to fight for what she believes in and the man she loves the most.
Ella and Dodie are thrown together through the discovery of a gold coin and soon begins a riveting, action packed adventure full of wonderful and at times devious characters in the quest to solve the murder mystery. There is a lot more happening on this small island tropical, magical island than at first appears and bigger players are at work in the murder of Morrell and soon another murder has occurred of the one of the richest men in the world- Harry Oakes. What is happening on this island and who is determined to keep Dodie and Ella quiet at all costs. Dodie and Ella are but small bit players in a much wider picture which if uncovered would cause scandal throughout the island. Dodie meets Flynn who seems to know an awful lot more than he lets on but nonetheless he helps Dodie through several awful experiences. Ella is forced to suffer a bodyguard accompanying her at all times as her husband fears for her safety on the island but soon Dan (the bodyguard) may become more of a comfort than she realises .
The story progressed at a cracking pace, there was never any lull, I loved every word. The murder f Morrell was only the beginning of the unravelling of a much wider serious of events that Dodie may never have been privy to if she had not stopped by a dark alleyway on that fateful night. Just when I thought I had the whole mystery solved and I knew who the murder was and why Kate threw a few spanners in the works which only added to my further enjoyment of the book. I would never have guessed the outcome , it just shows what a clever author Kate is. I loved all the elements of this book- the characters, setting,romance, mystery and the emotions it made me feel and the historical background. It was interesting to read after I had finished the book that some of the characters were real and the murder of Harry Oakes had actually happened. So much so that I had to google Nassau at that time to find out more.If you have never read anything by Kate Furnivall before I urge you to pick up The Far Side of the Sun, it’s a fantastic, rollercoaster read leaving the reader guessing right until the very end. I can’t wait for her next book to be published –not long to wait ‘The Italian Wife’ is out on Kindle in November. When you have read this you then have the pleasure of six more compelling reads from Kate to enjoy.