Published By: Penguin
Pages: 400
Released On: 14/09/2023
Nineteen-year-old Phoebe and her widower father Al have recently moved to Devon, to a small cottage with a river at the end of the garden.
Struggling with her own closely guarded issues, Phoebe doesn’t go out much. Instead, she spends her time at home, watching detective dramas and playing detective herself – trying to deduce from Al’s deliveries as a courier what kind of lives her neighbours lead.
But when they find an abandoned baby otter on the riverbank, it’s just the push Phoebe needs to finally step into her new community. Taking the little one to the local otter sanctuary and witnessing the uncomplicated joy of its fellow creatures, she feels a burgeoning sense of happiness that she has not experienced in a very long time.
However, Phoebe soon starts to suspect that something is amiss at the sanctuary – and she will need to put all her sleuthing skills to good use if she wants to save the otters . . .
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for a gifted copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I think I am probably the only person who didn’t read Hazel’s previous book, Away With the Penguins. I can’t say why. It wasn’t an intentional avoidance, it just sort of passed me by. But I jumped at the chance to read her new one. I mean, who doesn’t adore otters?!
What I will say, is if anyone is looking to re-home an otter baby, I’ll have it. They’re just so cute and Hazel has managed to describe them perfectly.
I found it far more emotional than I thought I would. I found myself crying at several parts, with sadness and happiness. It’s a real rollercoaster of emotions, and I can’t believe I haven’t read Penguins…, as if it’s anything like this, then I definitely missed out.
It is much more than just a happy, heartwarming, cosy family story – although it is that too. It has a darkness: there’s loss, grief, loneliness, anxiety, trust issues – it’s very real. And I think that’s what makes the happy times sing, because you need them to get through the bad times.
Phoebe’s dad Al was my favourite character. You can tell he really wants to do right by everyone. He’s a good dad, he’s grieving, he’s struggling, but he’s trying. I know this is Phoebe’s story, but for me, he stole all the scenes he was in. There are a lot of other character but I’ll just mention a few. You have Phoebe, of course, who I really liked, she is fighting her own battles but she really stands out. Her sister Jules was not nice in my opinion. She was a self-absorbed woman with no sympathy, and so I struggled to find sympathy towards her. Christine, Phoebe’s new friend, is eccentric, unique and utterly fabulous, she’s almost like a mother figure. Carol, the Otter sanctuary owner, is a bit surly and quiet to begin with, but it’s clear that she cares for her otters and her friends. But, of course, the stars of the show are the otters themselves.
As someone who lives with a chronic illness and is in pain for quite a lot of the time, I think Hazel has managed to depict it perfectly. I won’t go into too much detail for fear of spoilers, but there is a character who we find out has chronic pain. It was great to see this documented in a fiction book, and for a main protagonist to have it. Hazel has shown how normal it can be and how people learn to hide it, but shows that we are capable of living our own lives.
I’d say it has a similar feel as Jessica Redland’s ‘Hedgehog Hollow’ series – which I loved. So if you are a fan of her work, or Cathy Bramley or Kiley Dunbar, you will love Hazel Prior.
It’s a happy, uplifting read, with some romance and comedy, some thrills, and some mystery, it’s got it all. Such an easy and pleasant read for a long evening.
Books By Your Bedside 