A Desperate Fortune

A Desperate Fortune is my first Susanna Kearsley book. She’s written many books but I’ve never heard of her before, which I have to admit is a bit strange since I read everything I can find about new books or authors and I spend lots of time wandering the isles of my local bookstore. Anyway,  I loved it. It’s one of those books that combines 2 storylines, one present and one past. 300 years ago Jacobite exile Mary Dundas wrote a journal – in code – which is very intriguing to modern historian Alistair Scott. He’s intrigued enough to want to crack the code to see what Mary really had to say. Enter Sara Thomas, a reluctant modern day codebreaker who suffers from Aspergers. This syndrome allows Sara to hyper- focus to the point where she discovers Mary isn’t what she appeared to be.  Along the way Sara must confront her future, just like Mary did, and decide for herself which path to take. Combining historical fact with modern-day fiction Kearsley writes a really intriguing book full of twists and turns that really appeals. I loved it. My one tiny criticism was with the endings of both the past and present story. But I won’t say why. I’ll leave it to you to agree or disagree. Kearsley is Canadian! Shame on me for never having heard of her before.