Rebecca Laurelson has been working as a trauma surgeon in a field hospital in east Africa, a wartorn area. When she becomes exhausted and takes a month's leave, she goes to her aunt Julia's house on the coast of the Indian Ocean. A bigger contrast could not be imagined. From a fearful, food and medicine deprived area where terrorists could strike at any moment, Rebecca goes to a house of wealth and parties where anything one desired could be had at a moment's notice.

Rebecca and her mother had never been close so she has never met her aunt Julia and the family. Regardless, they open their house and welcome her. Julia is a bit scary with her parties and jewelry and sense of entitlement. Bill, her uncle, seems affable yet everyone is afraid of him. Her cousin Lucy doesn't have much time for Rebecca, off with her own friends on a daily round of shopping and fun. Storm, her other cousin, is a male with his own friends and pursuits such as surfing and fishing.

Yet the break is good for Rebecca. She has left the hospital exhausted. She has secrets of her own and needs time alone to integrate her past experiences. As time goes on and she is ready to reach out, she forms a relationship with Storm and unfortunately, it turns into an affair. But worse than that is happening. The terrorists are moving towards this rich enclave and the upcoming elections may bring more change than the white community is prepared for. When an attack happens, the secrets everyone are hiding emerge with their fallout.

This is the second book I've read by Jean McNeil. She describes the most horrifying scenarios matter of factly, only slowing revealing the secrets and horrors underneath a calm exterior. The characters are murky at first and only when Rebecca returns to the country two years later are all the secrets revealed. McNeil's writing is descriptive and the reader can picture the events vividly. This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.

Rebecca Laurelson is an English Doctor who, due to a variety of circumstances, ends up visiting her Aunt on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Rebecca only has a vague understanding of her family’s history and has not spent time with this part of her extended family. I wanted to like the story, but along with Rebecca’s weak understanding of her family, I was also left with little understanding. I felt like we didn’t get enough background of the characters, which made me not as invested in the story. On a positive note, the descriptions of the settings were delightful and well done. Overall, this book was okay.
*** A huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

The writing in this book is absolutely breath taking. McNeil does a wonderful job of describing Africa and the different regions. You can picture exactly where it takes place and how it would feel to be there. Unfortunately that was the highlight for me. While I was untreated by the story it moved at a snails pace and I was turned off by the much older protagonist's romantic feelings toward her much younger first cousin. I’ve read books with incestuous relationships before and in the end they just aren’t for me.

Sadly the book expired before I got a chance to download it so I am unable to review it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access this title.

This is a book filled with atmosphere and descriptive writing that takes you to a land of beauty and tension, an unnamed African country on the Indian Ocean.

The story surrounds a white, British trauma surgeon, Rebecca, who leaves her war-post in the north of this African country for a respite with family she barely knows who live in the south. Throughout the story, the reasons for her departure from her post begin to be revealed as a threat also emerges to this place of beauty and rest. And toss in some family drama to keep it tension-filled!

I really liked the descriptions of beauty, though I had no idea how I would keep up with all the bird nomenclature! This place seemed a surreal slice of natural heaven.

The story was pretty compelling, as radical threats remain in various places in the world. I liked the neutrality of Rebecca and her desire to help people, regardless of ideology. I enjoyed the revelations and their pacing through the story of her past.

I didn't care for the choice of love/lust interest. I appreciated the deeper explanation of what that may have been in the final chapter, but it was a bit too familial for me. I also had a hard time accepting all the anguish the white people felt as a minority who were pushed out of power. I felt this was addressed and pushed back on by a couple of characters, but I felt devoid of sympathy for their plights. Kudos for addressing a topic that has some likely strong opinions.

Overall, I felt this story was interesting. I would recommend it to specific people, but probably not for most of my general audience or connections.

Thank you, NetGalley for this audio in exchange for my honest opinions. A lovely narrator, as well!

While reading this book, I got lost between the more modern and old times. This book is written in two different time frames and I found it hard to keep up. I was also kind of weirded out by the much older protagonist's romantic feelings toward her much younger first cousin. Very incestuous and not for me.

A white female doctor working in field hospital within a simmering relics war zone is the main character. Set in a fictional East Africa, the fauna and flora of the region is described really well, so you can conjure up the environment and terrain quite easily. The people and main characters of the book are more complex, the religions of the area, the culture and rich white business men of a long lost era are all inextricably linked.to provide the backdrop for the story. Not a wild plot but more a story of belonging or not,belonging and searching for something to complete ones life purpose. It is fiction however you can relate to the observations of modern day life in Africa. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.