Daughter of the Shipwreck by Lora Davies - Book Review

Books

*AD-gifted: I received a copy of Daughter of the Shipwreck in exchange for this post. Affiliate links are marked with a *

I’m really pleased to be kicking off the Books on Tour for the *Daughter of the Shipwreck by Lora Davies. It’s an utterly gripping and powerful novel about family, secrets, identity, slavery and risking everything to be true to yourself. Read on for my review.

Daughter of the Shipwreck by Lora Davies - Book Review

Book Description

He kicked and struggled as his sister was carried out through the shallow water to one of the boats. The distance between them seemed to stretch out and out. There was nothing he could do. He cried out to her, his voice hoarse with tears, ‘I will find you! I promise!’

London, 1820: Nineteen-year-old Mercy, the orphaned daughter of an African prince, has come to live with the well-to-do Dr Stephens and his wife, Catherine, a passionate campaigner for the abolition of slavery.

Mercy throws herself into Catherine’s work, eager to help until – at an exhibition that has all of London talking – one particular painting makes a disturbing impression on her: conjuring vivid images of creaking wood and the screams of drowning people. Its effect on Dr Stephens is even stronger – a connection that seems almost personal.

Meanwhile, Mat, a young black sailor, scours the city in search of the men who kidnapped his sister many years before. When his path crosses with Mercy’s and he realises the girl he has been mourning is alive, it sets events in motion that will destroy everything Mercy thought was true about her old life – and her new one.

But as the names on Mat’s list are found dead, one after the other, the newly reunited siblings face a new danger. Someone is silencing all witnesses to the horrors of their past – and they could be next. But Mercy has had enough of secrets. She will have justice – no matter what the cost.

What I Thought

The blurb got me intrigued, I must admit I haven’t really read many books dealing with slavery, which is what I thought this book was about. But it’s not. It touches on the abolition of slavery throughout the storyline via the Dr’s wife Catherine. Mainly the story focuses on brother and sister Mat and Mercy. They got separated as young children, Mercy has no recollection of this. Mat does, and all his life has fought to find her. One day he spots her in a pub in London. The story then starts to unravel revealing many dark secrets that people are dying to hide.

Daughter of the Shipwreck was a slow starter for me. Therefore I can only give it 4 stars. It took a while for me to warm to the characters and the storyline. Mercy seemed quite arrogant to start. I feel this is through a lack of understanding of the class system. But by the end, I did warm to her as she realised she was lied to her whole life. Mat is a fighter, he’s been dealt the bad card in life but shows strength and courage in his search for his sister. By around the middle, it got me hooked and the second half was going at full speed! I enjoyed the dual character aspect, reading about Mat and Mercy’s stories and how they intertwined. It ended up being an emotional story very well written.

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the read.

Author Bio

Lora studied English at Hull University before training at East 15 Acting School. She went on to work as an actor, director and workshop leader throughout the UK, as well as in Italy and Hong Kong, for companies including English Touring Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and Theatr Clwyd. In 2018, Lora impulsively signed up for a writing course at her local bookshop and this led to a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. Here she completed the first draft of her debut novel, graduating with Distinction in 2019.