Description
'One of the best books I've read this year!' Melissa Ashley, author of The Birdman's Wife
Already a bestseller in Australia, this is a haunting, memorable and moving debut of one family's search for belonging. For fans of The Light Between Oceans and The Woolgrower's Companion.
Every family has its secrets . . .
1932. Ernie and Lily Hass and their daughter, Girlie, have lost almost everything in the Depression; all they have keeping their small family together are their secrets.
Abandoning their failing wheat farm and small-town gossip, they make a new start on the west coast of Australia, where they begin to build a summer guesthouse. But forming new alliances with the locals isn't easy.
Into the Hasses' new life wanders Lily's shell-shocked brother, Tommy, after three harrowing years on the road following his incarceration. And Tommy is seeking answers that will cut to the heart of who Ernie, Lily and Girlie really are.
The Secrets at Ocean's Edge is a heart-rending story of one broken family trying to find their way in life. Kali Napier breathes a fever-pitch intensity into her emotionally fragile characters, as their secrets are revealed with tragic consequences. If you loved The Light Between Oceans and The Woolgrower's Companion, you will love this story.
'One of the best books I've read this year. I absolutely loved it. Totally gripping, beautifully written, the characterisation is superb. An absolutely stunning book. I am still thinking about it' Melissa Ashley, author of The Birdman's Wife
'Kali Napier may be a debut author but she is certainly no novice. The Secrets at Ocean's Edge is an incredible novel' Theresa Smith
'An absorbing tale of family secrets, lies, betrayal and sacrifice. The story brims with authenticity [and] kept me guessing until the very end. I found it difficult to put down' Cass Moriarty, author of The Promise Seed
About the Author
KALI NAPIER worked in Bangladesh as an anthropologist on gender programs before working as an Aboriginal family history researcher for the Queensland government and as a Native Title anthropologist in the mid-west of Western Australia, the setting for THE SECRETS AT OCEAN'S EDGE. The novel was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award as was her first manuscript - also a finalist in the Hachette Australia Manuscript Development Program. Kali is currently an MPhil candidate in creative writing at the University of Queensland. She now lives in Queensland with her two children.
Reviews
One of the best books I've read this year. I absolutely loved it. Totally gripping, beautifully written, the characterisation is superb. An absolutely stunning book. I am still thinking about it -- Melissa Ashley, author of The Birdman's Wife
This beautifully written, intense tale of a family's heart-rending search for belonging is Kali Napier's debut novel, but there's a sophistication to her storytelling. The secrets of the title unfurl slowly with hints dripping through every page * Australian Woman's Weekly *
Napier has blended fact and fiction to great effect, writing with a raw emotional power that at times, is devastating * Better Reading *
Kali Napier may be a debut author but she is certainly no novice. The Secrets at Ocean's Edge is an incredible novel, a story layered with all of the hallmarks that make for an Australian classic -- Theresa Smith
If you enjoyed similar recent Australian novels such as Joy Rhoades' The Woolgrower's Companion, Lucy Treloar's Salt Creek, Lisa Bigelow's We That Are Left, and Rosalie Ham's The Dressmaker, then this is definitely for you * Historical Novel Society *
An engaging mystery while also being an absorbing tale of family secrets, lies, betrayal and sacrifice. The story brims with authenticity that comes from painstaking research. The gradual release of information about the family combines to create a level of suspense that is sustained and that kept me guessing until the very end. I found it difficult to put down. The author knows how to keep a secret, how to pass on a secret and how - and when - to divulge a secret -- Cass Moriarty, author
Book Information
ISBN 9780349421841
Author Kali Napier
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Piatkus Books
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 286g
Dimensions(mm) 204mm * 179mm * 25mm
