The Hidden Beach by Karen Swan

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Pan; Main Market edition (9 July 2020)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1529006228
• ISBN-13: 978-1529006223

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

In the oldest part of Stockholm, Bell Everhurst is working as a nanny for an affluent family. Hanna and Max Mogert are parents to 7 year-old Linus, and 5-year old twins Ellinor and Tilde, and Bell has been with the family for over two years.

One early Spring morning, as she’s rushing out to take the children to school, she answers the phone – and everything changes. A woman from a clinic she’s never heard of asks her to pass on the message that Hanna’s husband is awake.

Bell is confused. She clearly just saw Max walking out of the house a few minutes earlier, but the woman mentioned Hanna by name . . .

When she gets hold of her employer, the truth is revealed: Hanna’s first husband fell into a coma seven years earlier, following an accident. But now he’s awake. And life is going to change for them all.

 

Review

Every summer I look forward to the new novel from Karen Swan, so was excited when my copy of The Hidden Beach dropped through my letter box. As always Karen Swan takes the reader to a stunning location and this time it is Stolckholm in Sweden. After the death of her fiancé Bell Appleshaw finds herself living in Stockholm and working as nanny for the Mogert family, looking after nine year old Linus and four year old twins Elise and Tilde. What seems to be the perfect family begins to fracture after a phone call for Hanna letting her know her husband has woken from a seven year coma.  Hanna and partner Max face their family being torn apart as her husband, Emil, wants his family back and a relationship with his son. Over the summer it is Bell who tries to keep the family from falling apart, but as the family changed, secrets are revealed and Bell finds herself in the middle with her feelings compromised. This is a story of secrets, lies tragedy and betrayal set on the beautiful Islands of the archipelago of Sweden.

The Hidden Beach is one of those novels that just sweeps you on a journey that you don’t want to end. Karen Swan always chooses such wonderful locations for her books and she didn’t disappoint with her choice of Stockholm. Its not a place I have ever visited, but it is certainly on my list now. I never knew of Stockholm’s archipelago, apparently the largest in the Baltic Sea, but Karen Swan’s descriptive prose made it sound heavenly especially as there are is no Wifi or Televison, imagine all that peaceful reading time. The beautiful location, where the midsummer sun never sets, is the stage for a more darker story, of loss, grief and tragedy.

Most of the characters in this book have suffered loss at sometime that has a lasting effect on them. Bell was sailing around the world with her boyfriend when he became ill and died, which is why she finds herself living in Stockholm and working for the Mogert family. Since loosing her fiancé, she has closed herself of from love, spending long hours at work and spending the weekends with her friends, that is until she her summer on the islands where she meets a tall dark handsome stranger who has also suffered loss. Bell has to be my favourite character, she had such a natural way with the children, being like a second mother. She is also the one to try and help Hanna and Max navigate their way through the obstacles in front of them, putting the family before herself.   As a reader I was heartbroken for the situation Hanna, Max and her husband Emil find themselves in. Hanna never thought her husband would recover, so she moved on with Max and now they have the perfect family. Even though Emil is painted in a bad light at first with his demands, again I really felt for his situation, realising he has missed out on seven years with his son and now calls someone else papa. The whole sitiuation is unbearable, but as plot progresses Karen Swan uses this to show how things are not always what they first seem, and that there are many different sides to a story and to people. The result is well rounded, three dimensional characters with many different sides to their personalities that make them more human.

The Hidden Beach is one of the best books that Karen Swan has written. At it’s centre is a loving family whose life is fractured by tragedy and a little boy, Linus, you can’t help but love and want to protect. The emotions fall from the pages and into your heart as do the characters. The addition of potential romance for Bell and her relationship with her young Linus, bring light to this book. This is the perfect summer escapist read to get lost in, it really has it all; love, secrets, tragedy and memorable characters. So what are you waiting for, get clicking and be swept away this summer to the beautiful islands of Stockholm.

I would like to thank Pan Macmillan for my copy of The Hidden Beach in return for my honest review.