A Castaway in Cornwall by Julie Klassen Publisher: Bethany House (2020 (December 1))
eARC (400 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Also by this author: The Painter's Daughter, The Secret of Pembrooke Park
Reading Challenges: Read 2020
Synopsis
Laura Callaway daily walks the windswept Cornwall coast, known for many shipwrecks but few survivors. She feels like a castaway, set adrift on the tides of fate by the deaths of her parents and left wanting answers. Now living with her parson uncle and his parsimonious wife in North Cornwall, Laura is viewed as an outsider even as she yearns to belong somewhere again.
When ships sink, wreckers scour the shore for valuables, while Laura searches for clues to the lives lost. She has written letters to loved ones and returned keepsakes to rightful owners. She collects seashells and mementos, and when a man is washed ashore, she collects him too.
As Laura and a neighbor care for the castaway, the mystery surrounding him grows. He has abrasions and a deep cut that looks suspiciously like a knife wound, and he speaks in careful, educated English, yet his accent seems odd. Other clues wash ashore, and Laura soon realizes he is not who he seems to be. Their attraction grows, and while she longs to return the man to his rightful home, evidence against him mounts. With danger pursuing them from every side, will Laura ever find the answers and love she seeks?
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon
My Review
I wanted to read this book because it was by Julie Klassen and I tend to really like her books. I knew nothing about Cornish history going into this and this book definitely intrigued me. Cornwall seems like a very different place to other placed in Great Britain.
The story of the novel follows Laura, the orphan niece of the local pastor. Laura, though having lived in Cornwall for many years, does not feel that she belongs. She has been searching for a way to feel like she fits and has a purpose but has not yet found it.
North Cornwall is apparently the place of many shipwrecks and the people there scavenge through what is washed ashore. Laura likes to find the trinkets she can and try to track down the family to whom they belong. There is apparently a law that says they are up for free after a year and a day of being washed ashore. So Laura collects these things in hopes to give closure to the families of the deceased.
It is during a stormy night and another shipwreck that a man washes ashore and Laura saves his life. This man intrigues Laura as he has a strange accent and some fear that he might be French. This is during the Napoleonic War and so if he were French there would be great danger to the British.
The plot really focuses on the dangers to Laura and the mysterious man which escalate quite quickly. And Laura finds herself having to make a choice between helping the man or turning him in as a possible Frenchman. This really keeps the book moving along and I kept reading to find out if they would both be safe. It was a great story and I highly recommend it.
End Question
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley for
review consideration. This in no way affects my opinion of the title
nor the content of this review.
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