Seal Island

Cecilia is stuck in a rut and is longing for a way to get out. Surprisingly, her aunt Allegra inadvertently gives her a way out by leaving Cecilia her home and business on Seal Island. Cecilia arrives in Seal Island and is amazed at the warm welcome and feels as if she has been there forever. The only gray cloud on the horizon is the disquieting feeling of being watched. Cecilia is disturbed to find footsteps on her porch, a trail in the backyard that wasn’t there before, and half-glimpsed figures in the woods. When she finds out that her aunt was murdered and didn’t die of natural causes as she’d thought, the strange happenings take on a more sinister cast. Between the animal magnetism of Ronan; the suave, urbane Richard; and the weatherworn Tom, Cecilia has her plate full of men and her imagination full of selkies. As the summer continues, will Cecilia find out if there is anything to the stories of selkies, or are they ! just that, stories?

This was a great story that takes you in many different directions at once and neatly ties up all the story threads by the end. It was interesting to watch a city-girl settle so well in a rural environment. Ms. Brallier created very believable and lovable characters and makes you feel for both the heroes and the villain. I didn’t find myself distracted by the wide range of storylines that, to me, demonstrates a fabulous storyteller. I enjoyed reading the back-stories and the foreshadowing and was left guessing until the end. Very well done, Ms. Brallier.

Reviewed by: Serena