Review of The Swap

Another great book by one of my favourite authors. One of the things I loved about this book was the setting. The story takes place on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest of Canada and the culture and climate of the island are important parts of the story. Both the author and I are Canadian and I liked how she slipped in some other Canadian things like an ex hockey player as a character etc. But I digress, this is a fast paced suspenseful book that I flew through. The writing is so atmospheric and descriptive. The characters are all flawed and have secrets. Low is the teenage girl that is miserable with her life. She befriends a newcomer to the island, a woman named Freya. Freya and her husband have come to the island to escape from a personal scandal. Both Low and Freya hate living on the island and they develop a friendship, or so Low believes. Along comes Jamie who also becomes friends with Freya. With Freya pulling the strings she orchestrates that the two women swap husbands for a night. This of course causes more secrets, animosity, and problems between everyone involved. Low is always at the periphery waiting for her chance to have Freya to herself again. As everyone’s life begins to fall apart we are never really certain what is true and what to believe.. It isn’t until the very end of the book that everything is wrapped up. Once I started this book I couldn’t stop reading until the end. Definitely signs of great writing and a mesmerizing story. Another amazing book by this author.