Source: William Morrow
Hardcover, 384 pgs.
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Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams tells a twisted and dark tale reminiscent of Rebecca‘s Gothic nature and the secrets held back from the main character Virginia Fortescue — you may remember her sister, Sophie, from A Certain Age. The narrative shifts between the early 1920s (Virginia’s present) and the Great War where as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, she meets a charming doctor, Captain Simon Fitzwilliam. Their relationship starts out as a friendship, but you can tell that there is a spark between them from the start — almost a magnetic pull. Virginia, unfortunately, carries a great deal of baggage and has an inability to trust men because of her father and the death of her mother. Meanwhile, Simon is bent on protecting her by any means, including keeping secrets and telling lies. Their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.
The pacing of this novel between the time lines, plus the additional twists and suspenseful moments, can leave the reader fatigued as they try to see through the lies and get at the truth. Like Virginia, who is the main narrator, the readers is left wandering in a fog of lies with little light to guide them. The relationship of Simon and Virginia is passionate, but the deeper connection they felt is so easily broken by the lies of others and the circumstances they cannot control.
Many years pass and the darkness has poisoned what was once between them. It makes it difficult for the reader to have faith in the relationship at all given all that has happened and the inability to find even a little truth in the lies. It’s like in all the years since WWI, Virginia remains that same naive girl who is easily lead astray. Simon is a character who is hard to get a handle on because of Virginia’s inability to see who he truly is for nearly the entire novel.
What’s even more frustrating is the last third of the novel seems out of left field in places and overly dramatic (like a soap opera), which again may be related to the Gothic feeling of the novel. Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams is enjoyable in many parts and definitely dramatic. There is definitely a lot to discuss with a book club.
RATING: Tercet
About the Author:
A graduate of Stanford University with an MBA from Columbia, Beatriz Williams spent several years in New York and London hiding her early attempts at fiction, first on company laptops as a communications strategy consultant, and then as an at-home producer of small persons, before her career as a writer took off. She lives with her husband and four children near the Connecticut shore.
Find out more about Beatriz at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.