22 July 2013

Book Review: Deep Blue Sea by Tasmina Perry

"Beneath the shimmering surface lies a dark secret...

Diana and Julian Denver have the world at their feet. With a blissful marriage, a darling son and beautiful homes in London and the country, Diana's life, to the outside world, is perfect. But nothing is as it seems... 

When Julian dies suddenly and tragically, Diana is convinced there is more to it than meets the eye. She calls on the one person she had never wanted to see again - her sister, Rachel.

A former tabloid reporter, Rachel appears to be living the dream as a diving instructor on a Thai island. The truth is she's in exile, estranged from her family and driven from her career by Fleet Street's phone-hacking scandal. 

For Rachel, Diana's request opens old wounds. But she is determined to make amends for the past, and embarks on a treacherous journey to uncover the truth - wherever it may lead..."

Rating: 5/5

You can buy Deep Blue Sea as a paperback or an eBook now.

I am a huge fan of Tasmina Perry's books, and have really enjoyed reading her latest few books, which have been perfect summer blockbuster reads. Once again, Perry's publishers haven't disappointed with a gorgeous cover that totally blows you out of the water, and I could not wait to get stuck into the book. It's a rather long one, at nearly 500 pages, but I loved that it was a longer book - I really got my teeth into the story and I wanted to keep reading long into the night, to find out the next revelation and to find out what was going to happen next. As always, Perry didn't disappoint me and I loved the book from start to finish, and it's a must-add to your summer holiday suitcase!

From the outside, it looks like Diana Denver and her husband Julian have it all. Money, gorgeous homes and nice friends, the pair have a lifestyle to be envied. But when Diana suddenly and shockingly finds herself widowed, she's convinced there's more to Julian's death than meets the eye. She doesn't know what to do except to call the last person in the world she thought she ever wanted to talk to again - her sister, Rachel. She's been happily living in Thailand working as a diving instructor, but when Diana calls, Rachel can't resist hopping off on a plane to the other side of the world again, leaving behind her best friend Liam. Will Rachel be able to find out if there's been any foul play in Julian's death, and whether he was hiding any secrets from his loving wife? And will Rachel and Diana be able to end a long-lasting family feud for once and for all?

The book opens with an evening spent with Julian, Diana, and a group of their friends at their latest dinner party. A few facts are revealed, but by the end of the evening, and that chapter, Julian is dead. There's nothing better than a book diving in with the action, and this one certainly delivers on that. I did feel very sorry for Diana in the beginning, there's a lot going on in her personal life and her marriage that we do have to sympathise with, but she is quite a pathetic character really, and I wanted her to grow a bit stronger as the book went on. She did seem to use her sister a bit, her contacts and her journalist skills to find out more about Julian's death, and I did hope that they would be able to heal their rift.

For me, though, Rachel was a far more interesting character. I loved reading about her life and business in Thailand, although that bit was too short for me. I loved Perry's descriptions of the island, Rachel's diving, and how she holds back on what is keeping Rachel from contacting her family and returning home. In fact, it takes a good while for things to come to light in the book, and it really keeps the mystery factor going, making you want to keep reading until you know about it all. The friendship between her and Liam, her business partner, was quite touching too, I enjoyed reading about them. The two sisters are the main characters in the book, we do meet their mother Sylvia who I really didn't like at all, she was horrible to Rachel, and not overly nice to her recently widowed daughter either! Julian is someone we really only meet at the beginning and through other people talking about him, and his brother Adam is also mentioned, although I had my doubts about him and his feelings.

I found this book to be really gripping, and such an exciting read. Perry's writing is fantastic, it really draws you in to the action, and has you flitting around with the story, wondering what shocking revelation will come up next and shock you! I didn't expect some of the things in the book, and I loved the ending too, it seemed very fitting and I was happy as I closed the book for the last time. Yes, Tasmina Perry's novels seem to follow a formula but I don't mind at all - in fact, I love knowing what I'm getting when I start reading her books. They really are escapist reads - usually involving rich people, glamourous locations and an exciting mystery too. I really liked seeing the phone hacking scandal from a journalist's point of view too, it was an interesting look at it, and I liked that Perry included something that was quite recent in her book. Everything about the story was fantastic, and I loved every page of it. Yes, it was a long book but I was up late every night I was reading it as I couldn't put it down. A fantastic summer read, Tasmina Perry has done it again!

No comments:

Post a Comment