The day that Marilyn Monroe died, was also the day that the Bauer family lost Isabel, one of three sisters in "The Bay at Midnight", as the title suggests, through in circumstances not made clear until quite far into the book. That day everything changed forever, but decades later long lost memories are to be resurrected. The case will be re-examined both by the Police and the people involved as the existence of a letter from recently deceased Ned Chapman, the boy next door and Isabel's boyfriend, is revealed. Was the person convicted for the killing guilty? Why does Julie, Isabel's sister feel so guilty about her death and how does losing someone affect everyone else? All of these themes are examined through this book leading to some interesting revelations.
Diane Chamberlain has written a compelling mystery thriller, that I found to be interesting on many levels. Narrated from the point of view of three female characters, Maria (the mother) and the surviving siblings, Julie and Lucy, the story is a tale of family, female relationships and coming of age. The setting of a house by the sea provides the perfect scene for the characters to remember the time before Isabel died, a seemingly innocent time of sunbathing, floating in inner tubes in the canal, fishing and if you are the eldest sister Isabel, being a teenager and discovering who she is, before her life is cut tragically short.
As the story unfolds it is soon clear that things are not as clear-cut as they seem, in the 1960's bigotry and prejudice are never far under the surface, if you are Italian you might have been unsuitable marriage material in your youth, if you are black maybe you risk being accused of murder just by dint of the colour of your skin, and as the story moves to the present day it becomes clear that throughout the generations even the most seemingly perfect straight A-grade student may not be all that they seem.
The tale spans three generations from Maria, an octogenarian and mother to Isabel, through to Shannon, her grand daughter. There was something very believable about this family, a fact which was also true about the other family in this novel, the next door Chapmans. As Julie rediscovers her buried memories about the time her sister was killed, and meets Ethan Chapman, brother to Ned who has left the letter which is the catalyst to the action in the book, all is gradually and skillfully revealed by the author.
I found that the book was well written, and though I did struggle at first with there being 3 narrators to the story, having different points of view did make for interesting reading. As the novel went between different time periods - the 60's, the War years when Maria was a teenager herself, I found it interesting to see the characters at different points of time. I never was unconvinced that events and their history would have made them the people they were in the present. Julie was shown to change from a sassy risk-taker 12 year old to a rather more fearful adult whose fears mean she risks pushing her own daughter, Shannon, away. That she would change from being a Nancy Drew obsessed teenager, to being a successful crime writer when an adult, conveniently placed to analyse the crime of her sister's murder, was also somehow quite logical and didn't seem contrived.
The events, setting and dialogue were all very convincing, apart from a couple of times where I felt that the word "spaz" - certainly not an acceptable insult these days, had been used between the teenage sisters as a put down rather too self-consciously. That apart I thoroughly enjoyed the journey in this book, and the way the mother-daughter relationships were betrayed, even given the subject matter.
This is the second book I have read from this author - I enjoyed "The Lost Daughter" but thought that this was a more confident and better paced book. I do think that Chamberlain should lose the "for fans of Jodi Picoult this is a must read" tag line from the blurb at the back of her books - there are similarities and this book does sit in the same genre, but I feel it does her a disservice. I feel that this book establishes this author nicely as much deserving of her own fans, and I will consider myself one of them as I look forward to reading "Before the Storm", her next book, the first chapter of which is at the end of this book.
If you enjoy this type of book you will, no doubt like this; it is a light but thought-provoking read which held my interest throughout its 400 and so pages. I didn't see the end coming, but the plot was so skillfully woven that everything made total sense in the end, and the characters lived for me even once I had put this book down, wishing it could go on some more. Thoroughly recommended. (review appears elsewhere in my name)
