Book info

• Title The Dark Shore
• Author Susan Howatch
• Year 1965
• Genre Romance

Was it an accident that befell Sophia, millionaire Jon Tower's first wife, that weekend in Cornwell? Sarah Hamilton, on her honeymoon with Jon, finds dreams of a bright future turning into a nightmare replay of those mysterious events ten years before, which led to Sophia's death.

Thoughts

Set in the wilds of Cornwall, a millionaire property developer, Jon (with no H) collects together the group of people who were there ten years ago when his previous wife died. Now his new wife has arrived and struggles to not repeat the experience.

It’s hard to talk about the characters without giving anything away. They are all very good at keeping you guessing, so that you can’t tell who is hiding a secret, guilty or not. It’s not until the very end that you really start to see what they are really like.

I like Howatch’s writing, it feels modern and easy and compelling, but I read this book in an omnibus of three. I read two at once, with the outcome that I felt they were too similar. They’re separate books, and yet they felt almost the same. However, this one was excellent and kept me guessing right to the last.

Rating: 3 / 5