Review of 'The Mistress of Dara Island' by Averil Kenny

Review of 'The Mistress of Dara Island' by Averil Kenny

Released: April 3rd, 2024

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

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REVIEW

‘All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.’ John Masefield

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This mermaidy story is set in the tumultuous 1960s in tropical north Queensland on a fictional island. Thalia /Tally Ramsey is clearly a reflection of her times: wild and determined. She tests boundaries and goes after what she wants. It was a time of women fighting for their rights and seeking work equality, while the excitement of the first walk on the moon and Beatlemania were bubbling in the background. We see the struggles of women in this novel but also the song of freedom as some break free of the entanglement of male domination and archaic traditions.

This paradox paradise island setting is an important backdrop for the story. It oozes beauty but there are layers of corruption buried in the mysteries imposed upon it by evil men. There are also life altering secrets hidden within the mermaid elements created by a woman with the heart of a poet who has lost her way. The Mistress of Dara Island is packed full of intriguing surprises at every turn.

Tally has grown up on this idyllic and wild rugged coastline once owned by her grandfather and inherited by her mother. She has known since childhood that she was destined to slip into the glass slipper role of The Mistress of Dara Island but her father clearly has other ideas. Why does he dislike her so much? Or at least that is the impression he gives. Tally and her mother had a different dream, more nature friendly, of what to do with this island. But Bullshark (Richard Ramsey) has other ideas that are more commercial and financially inviting. Although, it is a tourist resort for honeymooners and nature lovers, the environment is anything but calming and  festive. There are some deadly secrets lurking in the background. Plus, havoc abounds.

Tally’s father, Bullshark - Richard Ramsey, drinks too much and is a ruthless man, feared by all. He does not want his daughter on the island but rather sends her off to boarding school. Her mother, as we discover, is a broken woman in spirit as her hopes and dreams have been crushed. She is a mere whisper of her former self: an empty shell nursing her loss. A mermaid trapped in a net. Until one day, she disappears while Tally is working on the mainland as a newspaper reporter. When word reaches her that her mother is missing, she takes leave from her job and heads home to put the pieces of the puzzle together of why her mother left, who she was and where she might be? 

For Tally and her mother, this is a story of self-discovery and a search for fulfilment. Tally seeks to step into the leadership role of the island and her mother, Nerissa, longs to escape the mantle of responsibility of being tied to the island she inherited. Not to mention she has been enslaved to a hateful man who appears to only want to steal her inheritance - Dara Island. The dilemma for Nerissa is that she must either learn to fit into the role comfortably or escape it and find what she once lost.

As for the mysteries, crimes will be exposed and secrets will be cracked open and the nectar of truth will run free. Tally will learn much not only about her mother and her past but also more about herself. The realisations will affect her own future and shake her identity. Once in the wild treacherous wilderness on the island searching for evidence, accompanied by her collaborator friend and potential love, Drew, who has joined her in bringing home the truth she seeks, something dramatic happens. Here she will come up against her greatest enemy—her father and in a moment of life or death, he will make an unexpected decision that will surprise her. In fact, she will discover a more-evil character who will intercept her path.

This novel is full of many challenges, twists, turns, emotional trauma, painful revelations and heart piercing moments but healing, growth, discovery, passion and eternal love will rise up through the wreckage like the succulent flowers of a tropical garden through the mist and tears.

I thoroughly enjoyed this unique and original island story with awe-inspiring descriptions, colourful multi-dimensional personalities and progressive complex plot. And the mystical glories of the marine world will be seen in the beautiful climax union of Bluebird and a mermaid— where art and love come together like the sea and the shoreline. A bit cryptic analogy yes, but you will see what I mean! I loved The Mistress of Dara Island and highly recommend it. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Echo Publishing and Averil Kenny for my review copy.

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The poem Averil quotes from at the beginning of Part 1 is such a gorgeous piece full of whimsical freedom, passionate longing, desire for adventure and heavenly harmony with nature. It goes so well with her story. I am a poet and come from a family of creative sea-farers so totally relate!

Sea-Fever

By John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

 

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

 

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.