From a Distance

May 5, 2014
Barker (Poppyland) continues her signature line of cozy romantic dramas with this feel-good story, which flips back and forth between the present and the period immediately following WWII. In 1946, British soldier Michael Marker returns to England from the war, but cannot bring himself to rejoin his parents and fiancée, for what now seems like a stultifying existence. Instead, he enters an artists’ colony on the coast of Cornwall, where he falls in love with Felicity, a textile artist; but their happiness proves short-lived. In the modern day, Kit Delaware comes to the same area of Cornwall to look over an old lighthouse left to him by his late mother. Kit, an affable bachelor, is intrigued by the lighthouse and by the nearby villagers, who all greet him warmly. Neighbors Luisa and Tom are particularly welcoming, and Kit soon develops a comfortable friendship with them. Barker slowly reveals the connection between the contemporary story and Michael and Felicity’s romance, but thanks to a cast of characters who often seem just too darn nice to be real, there’s little suspense. Sacrificing excitement, the reader is rewarded with a story refreshingly upbeat and free of any angst. Agent: Gaia Banks, Sheil Land Associates (U.K.).

June 1, 2014

A striped lighthouse off the coast of England lies at the heart of this novel with two story lines: one that takes place on the Cornish coast in the aftermath of World War II and the other set in present-day Norfolk. In the first story, Michael Marker disembarks from a troop ship in Southampton, suffering survival guilt over the loss of his brother. Derailed by the emotional fallout of his war experiences, he is unable to face returning home to his parents and fiancee. In Cornwall, he finds refuge in a burgeoning artist community and meets Felicity, a bookseller with artistic leanings. As he helps her realize her creative dreams, he slowly regains his own mental health. Decades later, the second story features Kit Davenport on a journey of self-discovery after learning, to his surprise, that he has inherited a lighthouse from his recently deceased mother. Some wayward sheep bring him in contact with a friendly community that includes the local history teacher and his attractive wife, Luisa, a purveyor of ice cream confections. VERDICT A not-so-complex mystery ties together the two strands of this breezy and entertaining novel, which should appeal to the Joanna Trollope crowd.--Barbara Love, Kingston, Ont.

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