The Keepers of the Lighthouse is another intriguing mystery from Kaye Dobbie! I love lighthouses and this ‘lonely windswept’ island where it sits ‘hides a dangerous secret of years in the making.’ The quote on the back and the gorgeous scene on the cover were enough to get me interested plus I love Kaye’s stories. Any keen reader will want to pick up this novel and read it for they will be mesmerised by its atmospheric setting oozing with storms, danger and revelations.
The setting is a fictional Benevolence Island but the author tells us it is based on Deal Island in Northern Bass Strait. It is an area notorious for strong winds and wicked seas and many vessels have been beached or shipwrecked over the years. It is a perfect setting, though, for a story where the weather is at odds with humans on an island that harbours secrets so great that it adds phenomenal drama in their lives.
This story is told in two timelines: 1882 and 2020 (with the occasional flashbacks to 2010). I found the historical thread initially the most fascinating because I love historical fiction but the modern timeline heats up fairly quickly and crosses over into the past. For dangerous secrets once buried in the island’s history, re-surface and bring long dormant ghosts to the fore. The mystery keeps you on the edge of your seat and flipping madly through the pages to see how the predicaments will all unravel.
On one side, The Keepers of the Lighthouse is a story about love, determination, fortitude and dedication but it is also about the dangers of greed, jealousy, vindictiveness and covetousness. It is also a story about identity: what is real, imagined and masked both in nature and people. The wild beauty of the island can be both idyllic and nightmarish. And in both timelines, there are visitors who may appear good but are driven by evil intent. Then there are those who are truly good but their actions are questioned.
At the start of the novel with the historical thread, we learn from The Hobart Recorder, posted on 15th May, 1882, that the schooner Alvarez, under the command of Captain Roberts and crew, has been chartered by Mr Albert Munro who has departed Hobart and is now on his way to Melbourne to begin a new life with his wife. Other members on board are visiting Englishman Mr Edmund Bailey and also a Mr Richard Jones who is on government business. But their journey does not go as planned when a terrible storm wrecks their schooner and tosses them on to the shores of Benevolence Island. Survivors are rescued by Laura and her father, the keepers of the Benevolence Island Lighthouse, set in Bass Strait between Victoria and Tasmania. The story unfolds as we learn about each one and the secrets they carry to the island. There are some great villainous moments that our Lighthouse Keepers Laura and her father must deal with in this strange collection of travellers. The plot has lots of surprises and twists! I personally admired the character of Laura, who is a woman of amazing strength, great capabilities (she is a fine sailor) with a hardy endurance. Resilient would be another word I would use as to live on such a remote island and continually be called upon to rescue and entertain strangers, takes a certain amount of fearlessness and fortitude.
In the modern thread, Nina has arrived on the island as a damaged soul. She carries a wound that has torn her trust and left her with long term fear and panic attacks. Of course, when she lands on Benevolence to do a job she finds that her past love interest, Jude, is there, too, also working. This unexpected encounter causes her to question everything she has built around herself for survival. Her pain reappears and the nightmares resume. If that is not enough, she senses danger lurking on the island: evidence of another presence who should not be there. This possible stranger adds more fuel to the fire of intrigue. The mystery ramps up while expectations run high. And Nina’s own history, Jude’s family history, and the island’s past residents’ history collide in an explosive showdown.
All in all, I loved this fascinating story (in both timelines that intersect), the colourful characters, the enduring romance, atmospheric mystery and matchless mayhem that kept me pinned to the pages. I highly recommend The Keepers of the Lighthouse. Take a sail on the pages of this story to the desolate windswept Tasmanian island of Benevolence and discover its treasures and tales of old! 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Many thanks to HarperCollins Australia (HQ) and Netgalley for a review copy.
