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june1832's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rebecca_isreading's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to HQ/HarperCollins360 for a gifted copy.
he Smuggler's Daughter is set in a Cornwall pub in two stories over 200 years apart. The author cleverly connected the stories with the characters' names and the setting, as well as some other details that become clear as the story gets on. I thought the environment in the story was well described and this provided a good escape, as well as a touch of mystery. A quick read at only 300 pages, this definitely satisfied!
he Smuggler's Daughter is set in a Cornwall pub in two stories over 200 years apart. The author cleverly connected the stories with the characters' names and the setting, as well as some other details that become clear as the story gets on. I thought the environment in the story was well described and this provided a good escape, as well as a touch of mystery. A quick read at only 300 pages, this definitely satisfied!
gemmiejewel's review against another edition
4.0
Plot
1799
Emily Moon lives with her mother in an inn on a clifftop in the darkest reaches of Cornwall. After her father mysteriously disappears, her mother finds solace at the bottom of a bottle, and the only way to keep afloat is to turn a blind eye to the smugglers who send signals from the clifftops. But Emily knows that the smugglers killed her father to ensure his silence, and she will not let his murder go unpunished…
Present day
After a case ends in tragedy, police officer Phoebe Bellingham flees to Cornwall for a summer of respite. But rather than the sunny Cornwall of her dreams, she finds herself on storm-beaten cliffs, surrounded by stories of ghosts and smugglers – and the mysterious Emily Moon, who vanished without a trace over two centuries ago. As rain lashes down around her, Phoebe determines to find the truth behind the rumours – but what she uncovers will put herself in danger too…
Review
Atmospheric and gothic is two ways I can describe my beloved Cornwall and this book does them perfectly. I love how the storylines intertwine with each other even going as far as having Phoebe’s name having the same meaning as Emily’s.
I love the take on modern day smuggling mirroring the old ways and the fact that it’s two feisty women who both deal with mental health problems at the heart warms me to the core.
The ghostly tales add to the atmosphere and gives you the odd shiver up your spine which I live.
Won’t say anymore for fear of spoilers but a really enjoyable read.
Rating
Four stars
Recommend
Yes - maybe don’t read on a windy night by yourself!
1799
Emily Moon lives with her mother in an inn on a clifftop in the darkest reaches of Cornwall. After her father mysteriously disappears, her mother finds solace at the bottom of a bottle, and the only way to keep afloat is to turn a blind eye to the smugglers who send signals from the clifftops. But Emily knows that the smugglers killed her father to ensure his silence, and she will not let his murder go unpunished…
Present day
After a case ends in tragedy, police officer Phoebe Bellingham flees to Cornwall for a summer of respite. But rather than the sunny Cornwall of her dreams, she finds herself on storm-beaten cliffs, surrounded by stories of ghosts and smugglers – and the mysterious Emily Moon, who vanished without a trace over two centuries ago. As rain lashes down around her, Phoebe determines to find the truth behind the rumours – but what she uncovers will put herself in danger too…
Review
Atmospheric and gothic is two ways I can describe my beloved Cornwall and this book does them perfectly. I love how the storylines intertwine with each other even going as far as having Phoebe’s name having the same meaning as Emily’s.
I love the take on modern day smuggling mirroring the old ways and the fact that it’s two feisty women who both deal with mental health problems at the heart warms me to the core.
The ghostly tales add to the atmosphere and gives you the odd shiver up your spine which I live.
Won’t say anymore for fear of spoilers but a really enjoyable read.
Rating
Four stars
Recommend
Yes - maybe don’t read on a windy night by yourself!
cakt1991's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The Smuggler’s Daughter is a dual-timeline mystery, and while I was a bit nervous about how I’d fare with it upon noting how it was structured, with both being in first-person (I’ve been known to forget whose head I’m in even with headings), since I got into the rhythm of it. And the two voices are fairly distinct, with Emily’s subtly reflecting her time period.
Ultimately , I did grasp onto Emily more, and that was likely in part due to the fact that she is what we today would consider to be autistic. I could empathize with how she‘s viewed differently by the townsfolk due to this, and provides a healthy reminder of why I’m glad to have been born in the present, even if that still isn’t without its own challenges for neurodiverse folks.
But I did still like Phoebe’s story to an extent, even if I wasn’t as personally invested in it. As an investigator, I liked how she applied her skills to looking into the mysterious goings-on of the Moon Inn (which serves as the setting connection), including a thread that ties into finding out what happened to Emily when she disappeared after she made some discoveries in relation to her father’s death and the local smuggling activities. I did admittedly gloss over a bit more in her chapters, wanting to get back to Emily.
While I didn’t feel like this book was as balanced in sucking me in to both character arcs as I desire with dual-timeline novels, I still enjoyed this one a solid amount, even if more for the historical elements. It offers a lot of familiar elements (the atmospheric Cornwall setting, a la the novels of Daphne du Maurier), with a fresh twist, and should satisfy fans of historical fiction who also like a bit of mystery.
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