Short and satisfying beach read

 Picked this up off a paperback sale rack when I was looking for a light, easy, vacation read – and it didn’t disappoint.

Cecilia accidentally stumbles upon a sealed envelope in her attic – addressed to her by her husband, with the instructions to only open it after his death.  The problem is that her husband is very much alive, and when she asks him about it, it is very clear that he doesn’t want her to open it.   Naturally she does, and discovers a secret that will forever change their lives, as well as the lives of so many people around them.

The chapters are divided between the separate-yet-connected stories of three families in Sydney, Australia.  The ending and resolution seem ‘too easy’ in some ways, but dealt with the idea of revenge and payment for life-or-death debts in an interesting way. It’s hard to say more about the plot without divulging the secret itself (although it isn’t exactly rocket science to figure it out before it’s revealed).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  As I mentioned above, I wasn’t looking for anything super heavy, or anything that was going to to make me think too hard.  I was headed out on a relaxing vacation, and wanted some relaxing reading as well.  This totally served that purpose.  It was the first of Moriarty’s books I had ever picked up, and am looking forward to reading a couple others.