Silver Bay

by Jojo Moyes

When Mike Dormer heads out from London to a small seaside town in Australia to kick-start a hotel development, he expects just another deal. But Silver Bay is not just any seaside town, and the inhabitants of the eccentric ramshackle Silver Bay Hotel - the enigmatic skipper Liza McCullen, her ten-year-old daughter, and her legendary shark-catching aunt Kathleen, as well as the crews of the local whale-watching boats - swiftly begin to temper his own shark-like tendencies. He is left wondering who really has the greater right to the bay's waters. As the development begins to take on a momentum of its own, and the effect on the whales that migrate past the bay begins to reveal itself, Mike's and Liza's worlds collide, with dramatic results. New, unforeseen hazards emerge to confront both the creatures and the McCullen women. How close can you get, before you end up destroying what you love?

• ISBN10: 0340895926
• ISBN13: 9780340895924
• Publish Date: 8 February 2007
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 18 August 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Imprint: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Lianne]

I was approved of an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/04/28/review-silver-bay/

Silver Bay was an interesting read, though it took a few chapters to get into the story and to acquaint oneself with the characters. The characters telling their story were interesting, their interactions varying. I wondered a bit why Greg’s perspective was included at all, he seemed the least developed from the rest of the characters. I enjoyed reading Kathleen’s chapters and I think Hannah’s is my favourite; she’s still a child but given her experiences she has a very mature take on the situation and I really felt for her and how she wasn’t able to express her feelings the way she wanted to or ought to.

Reading Liza and Mike’s chapters and the initial conflict between them–and later their budding relationship–was a little frustrating to read. Liza came off as unlikeable to me at first with her standoffish-ness that was difficult to understand and no other scene early to balance those characteristics out. Likewise with Mike; his personality seemed rather bland and I never quite had a sense of what kind of person he really was, even after his character journey. I also found it frustrating how there's a measure of secrecy around his decisions throughout the novel. Not divulging his decision making to anyone added–perhaps needlessly–to the drama.

Silver Bay was interesting once it hit its stride a few chapters in though the twists and turns on the drama can be a little too much at times. Nonetheless, I think fans of JoJo Moyes’ books will enjoy this.