Synopsis: “In the windswept British seaside town of Ridinghouse Bay, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on a beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgement, she invites him inside.

Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, newlywed Lily Monrose grows anxious when her husband fails to return home from work one night. Soon, she receives even worse news: according to the police, the man she married never even existed.

Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty Ross are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. The annual trip to Ridinghouse Bay is uneventful, until an enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable—and it’s not just because he’s a protective older brother.

Who is the man on the beach? Where is Lily’s missing husband? And what ever happened to the man who made such a lasting and disturbing impression on Gray?“

My Review

This was really, really good and probably one of favourite reads this year.

I am a fan of Lisa Jewell and this reminded me of The Truth About Melody Browne, but that’s okay as I loved that too.

The characters felt real and I especially liked Alice and her ramshackle life. I enjoyed the dual time frame as well, describing what had been going on in the past.

It was very creepy in parts which made me read on, wanting to find how what was going to happen next.

The blurb inside the dust jacket goes on about how the author gets better and better, I definitely agree!