Author Jane Johnson’s portfolio is extensive to say the least. An editor, novelist and historian, she has edited for Dean Koontz and other big names, and written several novels for children and adults, including the film tie-in books to The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. Her latest novel, The Sea Gate, is a beautiful story of love, loss and pain, bouncing between wartime memories of the 1940s and present day.
Set in the gorgeous seascape of Cornwall, England, the novel explores the trials and tribulations of two women: bold and eccentric Olivia Kitto, now in her 90s; and Becky, her 30-something cousin who has learned about Olivia through letters she discovered after her mother’s very recent passing.
After an unexpected fall that led to a stint in the hospital, Olivia desperately needs help restoring her beloved home in Cornwall. Becky, needing an escape from a despondent life in London, decides she’ll take on the responsibility that would have otherwise belonged to her late mother. Olivia’s memory is not quite what it used to be, but she remembers enough to know that the renovation of her home will need to include a few repairs that could quite literally unearth some troublesome secrets that she has managed to hide for so long. Becky, being naturally inquisitive, uncovers them anyway and eventually connects the dots that tell a scary tale of murders, Nazis and the courage it takes to protect the ones you truly love at any cost.
All of that—plus dives into history, a mind-blowing landscape and even a love story—make The Sea Gate a pleasant read.
