Warm and appealing

• Book: Finding Mother
• Location: Guernsey
• Author: Anne Allen

Review Author: Anne Cater

Successful TV journalist Nicole seems to have it all, from the outside her marriage to Tom appears to be perfect. They are both doing well in their careers, their house is beautiful, they have the world at their feet. When Nicole discovers evidence that Tom has cheated on her yet again she makes a decision that will alter her life.

Nicole tells Tom that their marriage is finally over, she can’t take any more of his cheating and his lies. She flees to Spain to visit her parents in their retirement villa, and to decide what she is going to do next.

Nicole was adopted as a baby, her adoptive parents gave her a loving home and she wanted for nothing, she was a happy child. Nicole wonders just who she really is, and whether her real parentage has any bearing on her life today. With her parents’ blessing she decides that it is time to return to the Channel Islands to find out more about her background.

Jersey and Guernsey are small islands made up of close-knit communities, and it is not long before Nicole has the details of her birth mother. Events move quickly and before she knows it, she has discovered not just her birth mother, but a whole set of relatives. Her new family, however, is not very straight forward and Nicole’s reappearance rakes up old secrets, betrayals, lies and heartache that goes back many years.

Anne Allen’s writing is warm and appealing. Her characters are well rounded, and the plot moves very quickly. For me, the most enjoyable part of this novel was the Channel Islands. Life, culture and the beauty of the surroundings are drawn so well. The reader really begins to feel as though they too are travelling the roads of Guernsey, visiting the bays and drinking in the assorted bars and coffee shops. Anne Allen brings these places to life.

Finding Mother is a novel that deals with sensitive issues very well. The heartbreak of giving away a much-loved baby, the despair of losing a cherished lover and the difficulties of living in a very close community are handled very well.

I enjoyed the novel very much. My one criticism is that the story is a little too well tied up for me, things seem to fall into place for Nicole quite effortlessly, personally I’d have liked a little more angst and drama – but that’s just my opinion!

Back to book