#BookReview ‘The Cove’ by Alice Clark-Platts

About the book…

IT’S THE PERFECT ESCAPE… UNTIL THERE IS NO ESCAPE

Welcome to Turtle Cove.

A luxury resort surrounded by pristine sea and the dense beauty of the jungle, it is the perfect escape from the stresses of life and work. For couples Lou and Adam, Eliza and Noah, a few days spent relaxing on the beach, while their kids are happily distracted, is exactly what they need.

But appearances can be deceiving.

There’s a strange tension brewing at the resort, with relations between the hotel and the locals threatening to spill over into violence. This is nothing though compared to the strained atmosphere between the two families. They haven’t been friends for long and they are starting to realise they don’t really know each other at all.

Except for one of them. One of them knows another very well…

And they have a score to settle.

My thanks to publishers Raven Books for approving my review request for ‘The Cove’ by Alice Clark-Platts, which is out from April 14 in hardcover, wherever good books are sold.

Starting with an epic opening scene which introduces the reader to the quite stunning scenery of Turtle Cove, and an unplanned kayak trip which dangles, like the most tantalising fruit over the ensuing pages, this book then takes us quite literally beneath the veneer of this paradise island to expose its darker side.

These two couples, and their 4 children, know each tangentially as part of a privileged, and monied, group of ex-pats in  Singapore. They might have gravitated towards each other in another setting, but here they cling to each other as aide memoires to another life. The long weekend ahead, at the luxury resort where wi-fi is blocked to encourage relaxation, is time to step away from the monotony of child rearing, law, book writing. Before long, however, this exclusive and excluding island setting becomes an echo chamber of bitterness, resentment and recrimination. Lack of internet services soon becomes the least of their worries.

One husband is constantly drunk, leering at the other man’s wife, and clearly not noticing that his own wife is on the verge of unravelling. The other wife, on sabbatical from a career which she has let go of , is flattered by the attention, her husband, not so much.

And in the midst of this, 8 year old Raffy (son of Adam and Lou), twins Chloe and Sam (children of Eliza and Noah) are thankfully blissfully unaware that much is wrong . They have the round the clock baby sitting service which is teaching them survival skills,cooking skills, diving, conservation and so forth.

But nature abhors a vaccuum and this cove, this inlet of tranquility is shattered by human engineered and natural events. Monsoon season, forest fires, disappearing people, all combine to turn a paradise into a purgatory of waiting to find just what happened to one of the 4 central characters who take turns narrating the book.

For much in the same way that retreat owner Lars is trying to persuade the local Malayans that charging people to come and watch the turtle eggs hatching is more profitable than the pennies they get from selling them, the island which relies on the trade from rich , mostly white , privileged tourists is more valuable than blowing them up. Or kidnapping them. Or even killing them…

It is a really gripping thriller that left you in suspense at who did what to whom, I really felt for one of the women who is clearly struggling to cope with a baby who does nothing but cry, it was such a vividly realised character study in desperation . I was not so fond, however, of her suddenly discarding her medication as though that were a veil which prevented her from truly being herself. Her tablets were not the issue, her (quite frankly) knob of a husband was, with his ‘it’s just parenting , how hard can it be‘ attitude. He is 100% one of those dads who ‘babysit ‘ their children.

For me, the quiet and ruthless Inspector Khan who comes to investigate the disappearance of , by now, 3 people, stole the show. He was a mirror to the Western indulgence which had led them to try and get away from it all and his observations were spot on in the face of those who genuinely seemed to think that he, a foreigner, could solve this crime satisfactorily (in a riff on Poirot who is always underestimated , and incorrectly identified as French!)

A satisfying thriller is what I have come to expect from this author, and The Cove is no exception. She brings to bear her understading of ex-pat life and her profession as a lawyer to bear on this all too human tale of human frailty in the face of the elements.

About the author…

I am a former human rights lawyer who used to work for the UK Government. As a litigator, I worked on cases involving Winnie Mandela and the rapper Snoop Dogg. I loved my job but then we re-located to the tropics and now I live in wonderful Singapore.

I also write short stories which have been published in in various anthologies. And when I’m not writing, I’m running The Singapore Writers’ Group which I founded in 2012. This is a fantastic group of both professional and amateur writers who meet monthly and attend workshops and critique sessions

Links-http://www.aliceclarkplatts.com/

Twitter @aclarkplatts @BloomsburyRaven