The Water Children

The Water Children Synopsis

Owen Abingdon is haunted by nightmares of the Merfolk. He believes they have stolen his little sister who vanished while he was meant to be minding her on the beach, but he was only a child himself. Is it fair for his mother to blame him? Catherine Hoyle's perfect Christmas with her cousin from America was blighted when they went skating on thin ice and Rosalyn nearly died. Somehow, instead of being praised for raising the alarm, Catherine gets blamed. Sean Madigan grew up on a farm in Ireland. Learning to swim in the Shannon was his way of escaping the bitter poverty of his childhood, but it also incurred his father's wrath. He flees to England, but his heart belongs to the Shannon and her pulling power is ever near! Unlike the other three, Naomi Seddon didn't fear the sea. She'd been orphaned and placed in a children's home in Sheffield and cruelly abused. The sea offered her a way out and she revelled in its cruel power. The water children meet in London in the searing hot summer of 1976 and Naomi uses her siren's charm to lure Owen, Catherine and Sean into her tangled web of sexual charm and dangerous passion. A holiday in the Tuscan mountains with a flooded reservoir and its legend of the beautiful Teodora who drowned there brings this emotional drama to a powerful climax. Will the power of family, love and redemption finally help the water children conquer their fears and triumph over their childhood traumas?

The Water Children Press Reviews

Praise for The Hungry Ghosts: ' [A] stunning debut.
WOMAN

& HOME 'A stunning debut!Epic in scope and voice!so skilfully crafted, and the writing so elegant, it's hard to believe it is a first novel.
THE GLOBE

& MAIL 'As heart-rending as it is innovative, The Hungry Ghosts heralds Berry as an original new voice in fiction.
TIME OUT

'This is a novel as breezy as the best summer reads, yet secrets and deadly jealousy seethe at its core!engrossing.'
DAILY MAIL

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All versions of this book

ISBN: 9780007303472
Publication date: 28/04/2011
Publisher: Blue Door an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Paperback

Book Information

About Anne Berry

Anne Berry was born in London in 1956, then spent much of her infancy in Aden, before moving on to Hong Kong at the age of six, where she was educated, first at Little Peak School, then Big Peak School, finally at the Island School, where she completed her A levels. She worked for a short period as a journalist for the South China Morning Post, before returning to Britain. After completing a three-year acting course at the Guildford School of Acting, and attaining LAMDA diplomas with honours in acting, teaching and speech therapy, she embarked on a career in theatre. ...

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