Told in dual timelines The Sirens follows two sets of sisters; Mary and Eliza, who are convicts being transported to Australia in 1800 and Lucy and Jess in 2019.
Lucy flees her University in terror after hurting someone during a sleepwalking incident and heads to her sister’s house hoping Jess can provide some answers. After the long drive to Comber Bay Lucy finds the house empty and Jess nowhere to be found. After seeing her artwork Lucy soon realises she and Jess have the same haunting nightmare about the two Irish sisters.
The family secrets soon start to unravel as Lucy is determined to uncover the truth about where Jess has gone, the shipwreck of the Naiad and the notorious male disappearances in the town.
The Sirens is a mixture of magical realism, historical fiction, intrigue and sisterhood all intertwined. As the narrative shifts between past and present how the characters are connected to each other and the eerie allure of the sea slowly unfolds.
The Sirens was a captivating read for me, and I loved the undercurrent of sisterhood and resilience that was woven throughout the story. Overall, The Sirens is an atmospheric read that perfectly blends mystery and magical realism with historical elements.
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Publisher: HemlockPress
Format: paperback
ISBN: 9780008732912
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Here’s the synopsis
Lucy is running from what she’s done – and what someone did to her.
There’s only one person who might understand: her sister Jess. But when Lucy arrives at her sister’s desolate cliff-top house, Jess is gone.
Lucy is now alone, in a strange town steeped in rumour. Stories of men disappearing without a trace. A foundling discovered in a sea-swept cave. And women’s voices murmuring on the waves…
As Lucy searches for her sister, those voices get ever louder. They tell of two sisters, two centuries ago, bound and transported across the world. A world where men always get their way. A world that is at once distant, and achingly familiar.
Are these voices luring Lucy closer to her sister? Or will the secrets of the past pull them both under?
What Caz Read 