Set the Stars Alight

May 11, 2020
Dykes (Whose Waves These Are) connects stories across generations in this tender inspirational. In early 2000s London, Lucy Claremont grows up with maritime adventures stories from her father and a close friendship with her neighbor Dashel. When Lucy is a teenager, her mother dies, changing her cheery father forever, and Dashel moves to the United States. In 1802 East Sussex, England, Frederick Hanford, weakened by fever, runs away from his drunken father and is found by a farming family. The family’s father, Tom, dies from the same fever, making his daughter Juliette angry, but Frederick honors Tom by making sure bells are rung on anniversaries of his death. After Frederick joins the navy, kidnappers come for Juliette, and Frederick returns to save her only to be accused of being a traitor by the navy. Back in the present, Lucy and Dashel reconnect after 20 years when they are both part of a team tasked with finding the sunken HMS Jubilee. Researching maritime art, they uncover Frederick and Juliette’s story, find the Jubilee, and discover links to the past, including a legacy left to them and the faith that built it. While the connection across centuries are sometimes heavy-handed, many surprising twists will keep readers guessing until the end. Fans of Tamera Alexander will love this.