Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter: An Atmospheric Historical Mystery With a Courageous Heroine Intent on the Truth

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The writing is wildly atmospheric, creating a clear image of this strange, raw place where the Brightwells live.

In 1886 Eliza Brightwell’s family - herself, her parents, her older brother Thomas, Uncle Willem and Aunt Martha set off from England to Bannin Bay in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia to start a pearling business.I can’t tell you about it but it makes Eliza all the more determined to find her father - dead or alive!

years later in 1896, a lonely Eliza is awaiting the arrival of her father's pearling lugger, the Starling, which has been at sea for over 3 months. Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter by Aussie author Lizzie Pook is a historical fiction set in Western Australia in 1886. An ocean where pearl shells bloom to the size of soup plates, where men are coaxed into unthinkable places and unspeakable acts by the promise of unimaginable riches. When a man accused of rape turns up dead, an Early American town seeks justice amid rumors and controversy. There were a couple of sections where it could've been tightened up a bit or fleshed out more, but overall I really enjoyed this one.

Interspersed in the narrative is Charlie's journal, from which Eliza seeks clues as to what might have happened. Gave me Where the Crawdads Sing AND The Light Between Oceans feels - but Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter is unique and wonderful. It is 1886, and a 10 year old Eliza has sailed from England to Bannin Bay in Western Australia with her parents, older brother Thomas, Uncle Willem and Aunt Martha. We collaborate with authors across all adult fiction genres, and also handle children’s books, young adult and cross-over fiction.

Lizzie began her career in women’s magazines, covering everything from feminist motorcycle gangs to conspiracy theorists, before moving into travel writing, contributing to publications including Condé Nast Traveller, Lonely Planet and the Sunday Times. This suspenseful story has a fast-pace and smooth-flow, bringing a strong female character who faces prejudice and corruption, while trying to uncover disappearance of a successful pearler. Her pen brought this world to life: you can feel the heat, the insects bites, the rain that soaks through your clothes.Not believing her father dead and determined to find him, Eliza along with two accomplices, heads off to find Thomas. Eliza’s single-minded drive to save her family because of tragedy in her past feels familiar, and it doesn’t allow Eliza’s character to develop over the course of the book; her romantic relationship with a pearler named Axel barely registers. Many thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly. After all, they dive into the deep waters to bring shells, and the owners sell the pearls to make money.