‘If no one knows you're missing, how can you be found? The unmissable new novel from the queen of psychological, suspenseful women's fiction. Bruised from the breakdown of her marriage, Esther Lomax needs to get away, and Malaysia's unspoilt shores seem the perfect place. But a day's boat trip takes a desperate turn when Esther and six other holidaymakers are taken to a desert island and their guide does not return. The group have no way of getting back to the mainland and know nothing about each other. As the days pass, tensions erupt, secrets emerge and time increasingly runs out, Esther must ask herself the ultimate question: will she leave the island alive?’
When Esther Lomax feels the need to do something different and unexpected following the break-up of her marriage, she decides to take herself on holiday to Malaysia, leaving her ex-husband in charge of their daughter back in the UK.
Everything is wonderful in paradise until Esther and some other tourists agree to go on a daytrip to a small uninhabited island. It’s only several hours after their guide leaves to pick something up from the mainland, and doesn’t return, that the holidayers realise they’ve been deserted.
Running low on food and drink, it’s not long before Esther and her fellow islanders are forced to admit that, with no immediate rescue forthcoming, they may not survive. However, what Esther doesn’t know is that even if she does make it off the island and back to England, her worries are far from over.
The part of the story in which Esther and the others are actually stranded on the island was less than half the book. When this section was finished, I was a little concerned that this would mean the action was essentially over and the story would now just crawl along to its conclusion. However, Barr had plenty more tricks up her sleeve, and I immediately found myself swept up in yet more excitement, which although not quite as life-threatening, was none the less captivating.
Esther was a great heroine: she was strong, brave and resourceful throughout the book. Although understandably desperate to return to her daughter in England, Esther never puts herself before the others on the island. She really does try to see the best in everyone.
I’m afraid I wasn’t completely convinced by Esther’s romance with fellow islander Ed, but that could just be because I was suspicious he was somehow involved in them all being deserted. I also felt I didn’t find out enough about him, even by the end of the novel, for me to decide whether or not he was a suitable match for Esther. It was either very brave or very stupid of Esther to trust someone she knew so little about when she was in such a strange and dangerous situation.
I’m a big fan of Barr’s clever and intriguing tales – her plots keep me guessing and the situations her characters are placed in are thought-provoking and exciting. ‘Stranded’ is essentially very intelligent fiction from a very talented authoress, and I highly recommend it.
4 stars
When Esther Lomax feels the need to do something different and unexpected following the break-up of her marriage, she decides to take herself on holiday to Malaysia, leaving her ex-husband in charge of their daughter back in the UK.
Everything is wonderful in paradise until Esther and some other tourists agree to go on a daytrip to a small uninhabited island. It’s only several hours after their guide leaves to pick something up from the mainland, and doesn’t return, that the holidayers realise they’ve been deserted.
Running low on food and drink, it’s not long before Esther and her fellow islanders are forced to admit that, with no immediate rescue forthcoming, they may not survive. However, what Esther doesn’t know is that even if she does make it off the island and back to England, her worries are far from over.
The part of the story in which Esther and the others are actually stranded on the island was less than half the book. When this section was finished, I was a little concerned that this would mean the action was essentially over and the story would now just crawl along to its conclusion. However, Barr had plenty more tricks up her sleeve, and I immediately found myself swept up in yet more excitement, which although not quite as life-threatening, was none the less captivating.
Esther was a great heroine: she was strong, brave and resourceful throughout the book. Although understandably desperate to return to her daughter in England, Esther never puts herself before the others on the island. She really does try to see the best in everyone.
I’m afraid I wasn’t completely convinced by Esther’s romance with fellow islander Ed, but that could just be because I was suspicious he was somehow involved in them all being deserted. I also felt I didn’t find out enough about him, even by the end of the novel, for me to decide whether or not he was a suitable match for Esther. It was either very brave or very stupid of Esther to trust someone she knew so little about when she was in such a strange and dangerous situation.
I’m a big fan of Barr’s clever and intriguing tales – her plots keep me guessing and the situations her characters are placed in are thought-provoking and exciting. ‘Stranded’ is essentially very intelligent fiction from a very talented authoress, and I highly recommend it.
4 stars
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