Publisher: 25th August 2020 by Sea Dragon Press
Pages: 378 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: women’s fiction,
My Rating: 3.5 cups
Synopsis:
From Jenni Ogden, author of award-winning A Drop in the Ocean, comes a gripping tale of family secrets and mother–daughter conflict set in London, New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and on a remote island off the coast of New Zealand.
Georgia Grayson has perfected the art of being two people: a neurosurgeon on track to becoming the first female Director of Neurosurgery at a large London hospital, and a wife and mother. Home is her haven where, with husband Adam’s support, she copes with her occasional anxiety attacks. That is until her daughter, 15-year-old Lara, demands to know more about Danny, her mysterious biological father from New Orleans who died before she was born. “Who was he? Why did he die? WHO AM I?” Trouble is, Georgia can’t tell her.
As escalating panic attacks prevent her from operating, and therapy fails to bring back the memories she has repressed, fractures rip through her once happy family. Georgia sees only one way forward, — to return to New Orleans where Danny first sang his way into her heart, and then to the rugged island where he fell to his death. Somehow she must uncover the truth Lara deserves, whatever the cost.
My Thoughts
Jenni's first title, A Drop in the Ocean, was a book I very much enjoyed reading and therefore, was looking forward to her next story. Once again Jenni has written an engaging tale, this time revolving around a range of themes such as family, with some mysterious past secrets, to create that curiosity factor. However, at its heart this is a tale of love and forgiveness, from moving on and lessons learned.
‘... sometimes toxic memories are best kept firmly in a box ...’
In many ways this reads like three separate tales and I am still undecided if it all gelled together sufficiently. Part 1 sets the scene obviously in terms of Georgia’s past secret and really delves into family dynamics and the fallout of a debilitating anxiety disorder. Part 2 finds Georgia and her daughter in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina. Whilst I appreciate the significance of this event to the characters journey, to me, it reads like a separate novel with tenable links to the overall mystery. That aside, the writing is incredible in the descriptions of what living through such an event must feel like, sound like - you were there when the waters were rising and could feel the palpable angst. The final Part 3, then transfers to both New Zealand and Australian’s Great Barrier Reef. In some ways, it's like Jenni wanted all these locales to fit her story. Here we return to Georgia’s specific crisis and steps taken to bring about her healing through confrontation and resolution.
“Nothing will ever sink New Orleans. She’ll come through this horror and be even stronger than before.” Even as the placatory words come out of my mouth, I knew I was talking bullshit. It was hard to see how any city could recover from this - especially one built in such a crazy place.’
The writing is well researched and it is clear how much Jenni has called upon her experience from her time involving psychology. She provides a twist on the traditional reading group discussion questions at the conclusion of the novel - preferring instead for her readers to contemplate reflection on the book’s overall themes of work-family balance, anxiety disorders, mother-teenager relationships and family secrets.
‘I suddenly wanted to be home, right now, with my normal healthy family. At least a day at the office put our trivial problems into perspective.’
The Moon is Missing is a book about the many types of relationships, from spousal, family and professional to the relationship one has with oneself. The themes are relevant and real, providing good social commentary - with the added mysterious twist to engage readers.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
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