When 17- year old Eva goes missing after a sailing trip, everyone except her younger sister Faith, thinks she has drowned. Faith remains adamant that her sister is alive, and tells anyone who will listen, that she thinks Eva is been kept as a prisoner by a wild man from the island. Her parents ignore her theories, believing them to be part of her childish imagination. Her parents’ relationship is under strain. Her father, Max can’t remember what happened before the accident. He is overwrought with guilt and shame. Her mother Clara, secretly blames Max for the accident. What her parents don’t realise is that Eva is been kept in one of the windowless, concrete huts on the island by a disturbed, young man called Billy.
This book is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and it will keep you intrigued throughout it. The characters are easy to relate to. Eva and Faith, although sisters and brought up in the same house, are very different in personality. In the end Faith is every bit as courageous as Eva. Max berates himself for not been able to save Eva. As a parent, he feels he has failed her by been unable to protect her. Clara finds it hard to cope and she suffers from constant migraines. She finds it difficult to come to terms with losing her daughter.
This is a mystery, thriller style of writing. Saskia is as an excellent writer. Her writing style is very descriptive and eloquent. Saskia’s debut novel ‘The Twins’ is also very well written. It is about an alcoholic mother bringing up her identical twin girls, Viola and Isolte. The girls meet identical twin boys and a friendship develops between them. The girls are happy living in the forest in Suffolk with their mother, until one day a tragedy occurs, which changes their lives forever. As adults, the twins cope with this calamity in very different ways. Isolte is a high-flying business woman for a fashion magazine, while Viola is consumed with guilt and suffering from anorexia.
Saskia is originally from Manchester but grew up in Suffolk. She initially studied Fashion Design and Communications at St Martin’s School of Art. When she was a mature student, she read English literature at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. She was a full time student and busy caring for her three small children at this time. She received an M.A in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway. She is the mother of four children, including identical twin girls. She has worked as a Health & Beauty Editor, freelance journalist, ghost-writer and script reader.
She lives in London with her partner Alex, her children, and her cats and dogs. She is very passionate about tango dancing and has been dancing for about 13 years. She also enjoys bringing her dogs for a walk or a run. She feels it is very important to get fresh air, and exercise when she sits at a computer for a large portion of the day. She has always wanted to be a writer and has been writing poetry and short stories since she was very young.
