Sea Changes by Gail Graham

As you know if you have been reading my blog for a while, I usually read mysteries. I can't stay interested in some of the "literature" of today. And, I don't want to get bogged down in some angst-ridden downer that never ends well.

But, when fellow blogger, Gail Graham , of Driving Chairman Bao, announced that her new novel would be on the bookshelves in May, I decided to read it.

The story takes place in Sydney, Australia, and begins with Sarah Andrews, whose husband died suddenly two years earlier. She has been unable to move forward, through her grief and make a life for herself. Her therapist, Dr. Kahn, hasn't been very successful in helping her, and she finally decides to just end it all.

She plans to walk into the ocean and start swimming until she tires and drowns. She swims out and as she tires, she looks down into the water and sees the face of a young girl, Bantryd, who takes her by the hand and pulls her down, down to the bottom of the sea,where she discovers an alternate society, led by Bantryd's uncle, Xaxanader.

Sarah still thinks she has drowned until Bantryd explains that she is still very much alive. She can't drown because she is a vestigant, a being who can live in the air and in the water. She is the last vestigant and Bantryd wants her to help her find her mother, who was also a vestigant and went to live on land, many years ago. Bantryd has wanted to search for her for a long time, but she needs someone to help her because she doesn't know anything of the world of humans.

Sarah learns that she can come and go at will. All she has to do is visualize herself wherever she wants to be. And, she finally agrees to take Bantryd home with her and help her find her mother. When they reach the beach and start walking to Sarah's house, they are stopped by the police and taken to headquarters, where they are separated. Sarah is questioned and sent home and Bantryd is sent to a hospital.

The plot thickens. It seems that Bantryd bears a startling resemblance to a young girl who has been missing from her home for some time and the police think that Sarah is the kidnapper.

Anyway, I won't give away the whole plot, but you can see that this is a book that is hard to categorize. It's part mystery, part fantasy, even part romance. But, it was definitely entertaining and kept my attention.

It's worth reading, and so is Gail's blog.