My first read of the new year. A wonderful new novel that imagines what might have happened to three lighthouse keepers who disappeared from a remote wave-washed lighthouse in the outer Hebrides in 1900.
This is literary fare that weaves together the stories of the three men who work the lighthouse and their wives and children on the mainland. How could the men have vanished with the structure’s only door locked and barred from the inside? The table neatly set for dinner? The clocks stopped at exactly the same time?
A perfect winter read–suspenseful, atmospheric, and chilling when the final answer is revealed. There’s no supernatural element here. The tragedy is the product of human passion and despair, making the conclusion all the more gut-wrenching.
What’s on your reading list for 2022? I’d love to hear about it.
Mike Coleman 