The Island Hideaway (by Louise Candlish)

(Amazon UK link)

I’m enjoying re-reading the novels I’ve acquired, over the years, by Louise Candlish. Some of her more recent publications have been tense psychological thrillers, so I’m rather liking the gentler style of her earlier work. I’ve just finished re-reading ‘The Island Hideaway’ which was apparently her first published novel, though she revised it a decade later; the original title was different. I first read it in 2015. 

Even this book has a hint of intrigue and tension, though it’s quite low-key.  The main protagonist is a young woman called Eleanor who has gone to one of the Sicilian islands for ten days or so. But it’s not for a holiday: she’s there to observe her former fiance Will, who is there with his new girlfriend. She hopes he might return to her - their breakup was traumatic, and Eleanor hasn’t got over it. 

I found some of the stalking very bizarre; Eleanor has a monocular with which she spies out the local village and cafes from her hotel rooftop, hoping to catch sight of Will. She isn’t quite sure what she’s going to do, and her friends back home think she’s crazy to be following him like this. I tended to agree with them…

It’s primarily a character-based novel, since Eleanor gets to know several other visitors in the hotel: Sophie and Tim, who are happily married and have left their young son with grandparents; a German couple with a teenage daughter who’s only fourteen but dresses skimpily and sulks most of the time; and Lewis, a man she finds quite attractive and willing to listen when she pours out some of her story. 

It’s well-written, with some flashbacks. It wasn’t always obvious that these were happening, as there was no change of tense, or clear indication that there was going to be a foray into the past, but context soon showed me that the main story was taking a brief break. The flashbacks fill in some detail that helps with the story, and don’t really detract from it.

It’s quite a page-turner, and the ending works well, although it’s a bit abrupt; I’d like to have seen a little more of what was going to happen when Eleanor returned to London. But my biggest problem with the book that I didn’t actually much like Eleanor. Her obsession with Will doesn’t seem entirely believable, her excessive drinking and smoking gets out of hand, and she does some frankly stupid things. 

There are one or two unexpected turns to the storyline, although by the time the revelations come I’d pretty much guessed the outcomes; I don’t think I was remembering them from my last read as it was so long ago. I had certainly forgotten a rather perilous scene when Eleanor doesn’t check the weather before embarking on a long outing with two other characters. 

Definitely worth reading, and re-reading if you like this style of women’s fiction, but not the best of Louise Candlish’s writing. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's Book Reviews