To me, a good book is one that when you get to the last page you grab anything within reach that writes and you start scribbling a review so you can tell others.
I have just closed Hannah Richell’s Secrets of The Tides (Hachette Aust) knowing every moment of the story was a delight (and most of all a good investment of my time – which I have little of at this stage in my own publishing journey).
So, what an extra thrill to have a story carry me away with its perfect prose, its unclichéd cast of multi-layered characters, and by an author unafraid of wading into the deep and outside standard story structures. With my own approach to House For All Seasons (my debut novel) being described as ‘brave’ I really related to Hannah’s style. Not only is Secrets of the Tides a poignant story told from the alternating perspectives of two sisters and their mother, the author takes readers seamlessly from the past to the present, and uses past and present tense to pull you in even deeper.
(NB: Swimming outside the flags is not a safe practice for all new authors!)
In Secrets of the Tides readers witness the ripple effect of tragedy, the way if unravels relationships to the point of implosion until only fragments of a family remain.
Brilliant in every way.
It’s no wonder world English language rights to Secrets of the Tides were acquired at auction (by Orion, working in conjunction with Hachette Australia) with translation rights sold in France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Sweden, Poland, Portugal, Brazil, Denmark, Norway, Serbia, Iceland and to Catalan publishers Ara Llibres.
I hope to talk Hannah into joining my Author Harvest (here on jennjmcleod.com) so we can find out a little bit about the author behind the book.