A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson

This book has attracted a lot of attention, and appeared on the Booker Longlist for 2021, but I have to say that it was not that much of a stand-out read for me. It's an easy to read with a gentle build to the plot but just not a real page turner that I couldn't wait to get back to. Maybe it suffered for being the book I read straight after Boy Swallows Universe.

It centres around a man called Liam who has unexpectedly been left a small property by a woman who his family lived next door to when he was a very small child. He barely has any memory of her so it is all a bit strange, but he is at a crossroads in his life having recently split from his wife, so he heads north through the forests of Canada to live there for a while.

When he arrives at the house he finds it fully furnished with all the old lady's possessions exactly as she had left them when she went into hospital, but that doesn't bother him as he won't be staying long. People notice that the house has been occupied by a stranger, so it isn't long before a police officer comes calling to check out his credentials. While the officer is there he points out that the family next door are going through a very hard time at the moment as their teenage daughter has disappeared and everyone fears for her safety. Naturally Liam considers that the girl's disappearance will not affect him much, but then events take a turn, and he finds himself getting to know the locals a little more than he had intended.

The plot is not complicated so it's the kind of book you can dip in and out of without losing the thread and everything feels believable so everything binds together nicely. If I was giving out stars I might give this one a three but perhaps others would get more from it.

Comments

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