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Another riveting read from Karly Lane! The One That Got Away is a wonderful mix of mystery with a bit of crime and a warm helping of romance and plenty of drama and twists. I was quite caught up with lead character Alex Kelly as I followed her plight. She has returned home to Australia on a visit to tend to her late father’s house that he left to her. She encounters a lot of memories: some good and others quite frightful. Particularly one horrible event that happened when she was seventeen before she moved away to London to pursue a new life. Her presence back in the town gets tongues wagging and old trouble rises again.
Alex runs into Sully McCoy, a past love that broke her heart. She learns he has spent the last twenty years building up his business and making a good life for himself and his daughter in Rockne Heads. His appearance stirs up a whole lot of buried emotions which get her confused. Will they rekindle an old romance or is the risk too great? Not to mention, Alex lives on the other side of the world and she has made it clear she is not here to relive the past but rather to end old ties for good. But does her heart have other ideas?
Yet there’s more to this story. We are provided flashbacks to learn of a mystery that surrounds a fellow named Jamie whose family has a bad reputation for drugs. He is quite a loathsome character, too. On that fateful night when everything changes, Alex attends a party with many of the town’s teenagers where she learns some hurtful news about Sully. This sends her into a tailspin and she runs off in an act of rebellion with Jamie. But something terrible happens and she leaves the party in shock. This event will haunt her for many years to come.
In the morning, awful news hits the streets that Jamie has died and it sends a fierce ripple through the town causing much division. Accusations run high after his body is found in the sea. Has he fallen off a cliff? Or maybe been pushed? If so, who did this? Alex’s father is a cop on the case and many are called in for testimony. Some terrible feelings arise as the conclusion is not satisfactory; particularly for the family of the deceased.
Years later, upon Alex’s re-entry to the town, fingers are pointing again and she is in fear of her life. While taking refuge in her father’s house and finding comfort in the reconnection with her old best friend, Alex discovers some notes her father left behind. He was compiling them for a book. The words reveal his thoughts of the incident and of her.
This story has a great plot with fantastic characters and the mystery is well conceived and delivered. Despite its gritty reality, the outcome is a positive and appropriate one. I loved the journey and was pinned to the pages as I followed the peaks and valleys of Alex’s roller coaster experience. It is an emotional read for sure, told from Alex’s and Sully’s viewpoint, and covers some heavy topics but Karly keeps a tight rein on it all.
This story is both tender and tragic, heartbreaking and triumphant. When family members and neighbours spill their secrets and the surprising truth comes out, the record is set straight and growth begins. As this age old mystery is solved, healing starts to flow through the hearts of the Rockne Head community members. This is ultimately about the power of truth and how it can set the innocent free. It is also about second chances and how it is never too late to make amends and start again for The One That Got Away. A wonderful life affirming story I highly recommend. (With a bonus fishing business connection to which I can truly relate!)
5 Beautiful Stars.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
