The Edge of the Water

Whidbey Island Saga #2

by Elizabeth George

A mysterious girl who won’t speak; a coal black seal named Nera that returns to the same place very year; a bitter feud of unknown origin—strange things are happening on Whidbey Island, and Becca King, is drawn into the maelstrom of events.

But Becca, first met in The Edge of Nowhere, has her own secrets to hide. Still on the run from her criminal stepfather,  Becca is living in a secret location. Even Derric, the Ugandan orphan with whom Becca shares a close, romantic relationship, can’t be allowed to know her whereabouts.

As secrets of past and present are revealed,  Becca becomes aware of her growing paranormal powers,  and events build to a shocking climax anticipated by no one.

Acclaimed author Elizabeth George brings her extraordinary talents to this intriguing story that blends mystery and  myth.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Supernatural, Contemporary

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Susan Elizabeth George is an American author of mystery novels set in Great Britain. Eleven of her novels, featuring her character Inspector Lynley, have been adapted for television by the BBC as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.

She was born in Warren, Ohio, but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was eighteen months old. She was a student of English, receiving a teaching certificate. While teaching English in the public school system, she completed an advanced degree in psychology.

Her first published novel was A Great Deliverance in 1988, featuring Thomas Lynley, Lord Asherton, a Scotland Yard inspector of noble birth; Barbara Havers, Lynley's assistant, from a very working-class background; Lady Helen Clyde, Lynley's girlfriend and later wife, of noble birth as well; and Lynley's friends Simon and Deborah St. James.

This Elizabeth George is distinct from the other author named Elizabeth George (Christian author).

Series:
* Inspector Lynley

Reviews

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay there were definitely flaws in this one. But it was such a joy to have a quick fast paced read. Part of that is because it's a book two and there's no reason to set the scene. And part of it because it's a book 2 but it's not just a longer version of book 1. Obviously there's a selkie in this one, which is pretty clear from almost page one. And there's more than one pov character. And lots of confusion. And there's change and growth and it didn't have to continue in the obvious path with Becca's stepdad. What I didn't appreciate was people telling other people who they were and apparently them being right. Maybe that happens but it felt hard to accept. Going back to Whidbey if only in a book was still a plus. 3.5 of 5.

[Maisy_Day23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how the author gave different point of views throughout the entire story. That way readers can get a look at what's going on in the lives of the other characters instead of just the main one.

I didn't expect the twist of Jenn's thoughts and emotions on her sexuality, but I think it touched the book in a thoughtful and diverse way.

Annie though, gosh! What the heck is wrong with that girl?! She is all sorts of messed up in the head. If I didn't know better, I would say that she got fumed with that oil spill ages ago and it made her mental, but clearly she was just born this messed up! Annie had, what we call an "open relationship" except their not really dating more than one person, their just fooling around with other peoples emotions and private parts! That is not ok, and does not make fucking around with a guy (when your a lesbian "more or less") and screwing around with his feelings ok! Nor is it ok to come on to a 15 year old girl when she's like, what? In her 30's! That's child molestation! This girl is crazy and should be put in jail!

But anyway! This was a great book, and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Elizabeth George's YA books have left me disappointed. I am a big fan of her adult mysteries, but it seems like she is trying too hard to break into the YA market by hitting all the teen check boxes, i.e. mind reading, fantasy, young love angst, bully become friend, oh, let's though in a little mythology in there too. It's too much. She should of just stayed with the straight mystery.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 sterren - Nederlandse paperback

In het eerste deel van de serie Stormgrvaar, werd hoofdpersonage Becca King geïntroduceerd en in dit boek vervolgd.

Whidbey is elk jaar in de ban van de komst van Nera: een zwarte zeehond. Dit jaar is zij alleen niet de enige die het eiland in rep en roer zet. De knappe onderzoekster Annie Taylor en het mysterieuze meisje Cilla betrekken Becca King en Jen McDaniels tegen hun zin in bij deze vreemde zeehond.

Op zoek naar een vaste verblijfplaats en stabiel levensonderhoud wordt Becca King betrokken in de mysteries rondom Nera en ontwikkelt noodgedwongen haar krachten verder. Ook Jenn McDaniels ontkomt er niet aan om zichzelf te leren kennen, wanneer Annie haar meesleept in haar onderzoek naar de zeehond. 

In det boek volgt de zoektocht naar de mysteries van Nera, terwijl elk personage langzaam meer te weten komt over zichzelf.  En ik dus ook. Goed die verdieping. Geeft meer chaset aan het verhaal.

Dat George kan schrijven heeft ze bewezen met haar Lynley-thrillers. Dat ze ook kan schrijven voor een jonger publiek wordt duidelijk in dit boek.

Vanaf pagina één weet George de lezer te pakken en het boek in te trekken. Het mysterie rondom de personages spat van de pagina’s af en Cilla is hierin de centrale spil.

De korte introductie met dit personage aan het begin van elk subdeel in het boek is pakkend verwoord en zorgt ervoor dat er een constante nieuwsgierigheid bij de lezer naar haar verhaal blijft bestaan.

Ook de rest van de personages zijn in detail uitgewerkt, waardoor ze ieder voor zich uniek, krachtig en realistisch zijn. Het talent om zoveel goede personages en verhaallijnen te creëren en uit elk perspectief een realistisch en identificeerbaar verhaal neer te zetten.

Goede tweede ronde. Aanrader.

Gaat naar dependance jeugdhonk

[adithi · Rating 2 out of 5]

ew

[Anna Bubolz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review
I liked this book overall. If there was one thing I'd change it would have more action. I knew that Becca and Jen would become friends in the first book because you can't possibly hate someone that much for no apartment reason. I was also pleased to find out that Becca did tell Diana about her whispers.

Plot
The plot of this book was about Nera. Nera is a jet black seal. It comes to Whidbey Island every year and this year is special because a marine biologist is trying to figure out what Nera is. On the side Becca's whispers are coming in full sentences and she can read people's minds better. Her and Derrics relationship is crumbling and they break up. In the end most secrets are revealed which is nice.

Recommendations
I would recommend this book to people in highschool. This book doesn't have much foul language but it is a high school setting so a middle schooler shouldn't read this. I think girls would appreciate this book more than the males because it did have mushy romance.

[Melissa Chung · Rating 2 out of 5]

Omg I finally finished... I started this book in July 2014 and had it sitting on my desk forever unfinished. I never really could get into it. Today I put my foot down. I stayed up until 3 in the morning to finish it too.

I'm giving this sequel 2 stars. In the first book 'The Edge of Nowhere', we meet Becca a 15 year old girl from San Diego. We find out Becca's step father has killed his business partner. So Becca and her mom make a run for it. Fear that they will be killed as well. In their haste to hide, Becca's mother drops her off at Whidbey Island off the coast of Washington. Tell's her she'll be staying with a friend and she'll come back for her soon.

The first book was great. A bit of mystery. A little bit of paranormal abilities. This second book was all over the place.

There are so many subplots going on. The main mystery of this sequel was just weird. It would have been great if this supernatural story line was a continuation from the first book. The first 250 pages were so slow. The build up dragged. The secondary characters took too much time away from the main plot.

I was not impressed. I think this is a trilogy, wish is unfortunate. I of course want to see what happens to Becca in the end, but maybe not this year.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book— read it in one day!

[Devon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This sequel definitely wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped. It's been a while since I read the first book and I'm sure it had its flaws but I loved it. It's one of those books that have stuck with me ever since I finished it. This book, however, I can't say left much of an impression. It was a little hard to read through to be perfectly honest and I think it's primarily because it seems so vastly different from what was presented in the first book. The first book was suspenseful story about a girl out to keep herself from her dangerous step father with a little supernatural power for extra measure. With this book it was like the author didn't know what to do because after this book she has one more to write - which is a shame because I think this all would have done well with just two books rather than the overused trilogy formula - so she had to come up with something and this is it.

First off, this story just comes off as an outright mess. You have Jenn's perspective, Becca's perspective, and Derrick's perspective. All of this seems so wildly different from one another it was hard to see how in the world they were connected. Even when they finally came together - well, at least Jenn's and Becca's did - it still seemed utterly confusing with a rushed ending to explain how everyone is connected to this one seal. I'm all for varying perspectives but it could have been written much neater than it was in this book.

Jenn's perspective was the only perspective that remained interesting throughout the entire book. I don't remember her from the first book which irritated me a little but I was okay with going along with it. Jenn herself is a little tiring in how outright antagonistic she is and her home life didn't seem so bad to justify her behavior but I got use to her fast enough. At least her side of the story was going somewhere. Becca, who was the only character I really was invested in, seemed to have very little to do in this story and until way into the middle half her perspective is very dull. It felt like her story, which was all the first book was about, was being shunted aside for this less interesting mystery about a seal. I will say, though, that at least she didn't spend her time moping about Derrick. That would only have made it worse.

Derrick's perspective was useless. Really, the author could have cut all the chapters from his POV and the story would not have been impacted at all. It was like she was dying to keep him relevant but had no real way of doing so. I feel like his perspective could have been compelling: He is part of a very small minority on an island populated by mostly whites and he has a hard time reconciling his life in the States and his life in Uganda. All of this would have been a unique story line to follow, one we don't see enough of in YA literature. What does the author focus on? Sex. He wants to have it but when he does it wasn't what he expected. It read like some cautionary tale a Christian youth group would give to its students. Somehow this all ties into his struggle with identity but to me it was a flat story about not knowing whether you really want to sleep with someone or not. What does this have to do with Uganda? What does this have to do with Derrick as an actual person with a huge identity crisis? Nothing. Nothing at all. I'd say it was the chapters about Derrick that made reading this a chore.

I see a lot of people don't know what to think about the seal and that's because really there's no one way to feel about it. It comes completely out of left field. Suddenly everything it about this seal, even the characters themselves constantly talk about why everything is about this seal. It's an unusual seal, the book says over and over. That's because it's a selkie which seems so out of place with everything that has been given to the reader so far. Suddenly we have magic seals. Why? How does this impact the overall story which, if you've forgotten in all this, is Becca trying to hide out from her stepdad? I don't even know the answer to that myself.

I don't think I've been so mad about a sequel in my life. I wanted to like it but it just didn't go with the first book at all. It's such a shift in focus and direction that it's hard to tolerate. I've never seen a bunch of characters who just don't know anything about themselves, about the people around them, about where they're going. Every character arc felt like it ended up with, "IDK, I guess I'll figure out at some point." If this is suppose to represent teens then it's kind of off the mark. I think real teenagers know a lot more about themselves than this book will lead you to believe. I don't know if I'll bother with the third book and if I do it will only be to see how everything turns out with Becca's stepfather. I'm certainly hoping there won't be another ridiculous plot about seals or some out of place nonsense.

[Venessa Stella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book! I read this book a few years ago and I really couldn't remember anything about it.
This mix of fantasy and crime fiction is perfect.

I found it excitingly written throughout and the plot twist at the end was really unexpected. I didn't see that coming.
I am really curious to see how the story about Becca and her friends develops.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book continues the story begun by author George, in The Edge of Nowhere. Becca King is now living in a treehouse provided by Seth. She still remains in hiding from her stepfather. She and Derric are officially a couple, but Derric is having trouble with the secrets and the Seth thing. What are they to each other? Why can't Derric know the secrets Seth knows? This eventually leads to a breakup and to Derric taking up with Courtney, high school "it" girl.

On a side note, Jenn McDaniels, sworn Becca enemy, is trying to get ready for soccer tryouts that will allow her to make a team that will give her a chance at a scholarship so that she can get off the island and go to school. Those plans are derailed when Annie Taylor, marine biologist PhD student shows up and ropes Jenn into helping. Annie's interest is a seal named Nera that returns yearly to the area and is all black. She wants to prove it's a new kind of seal or a genetic mutation so that her thesis will be star material. Jenn and Annie develop a loose but stressed relationship. Annie is very different and Jenn finally learns why when Annie reveals that she is bisexual and has a girlfriend back home. This eventually leads to Jenn questioning her own sexuality; or rather, it being questioned for her by Annie. In the end Jenn is still questioning. Plus Jenn is curious about the strange mute woman who has shown up. Where'd she come from?

Another side story: Derric and Courtney take up with each other after Derric and Becca call it quits. Their relationship is fraught with DESIRE from the beginning. They both find it increasingly difficult to keep their hands off each other and remain celibate. Derric is struggling because he wants intimacy to feel right and be with the right person; Courtney because her faith requires celibacy. In the end the pair do indeed have intercourse. Derric is unsettled by the whole experience but Courtney believes in cements their relationship for all time.

Yet another side note: Becca has begun working for/with Ivar Thorndyke and Sharla Mann. This couple co-habitats but are not involved with each other. Right away, Becca feels that something is off about these two. Ivar knows something interesting about the seal that Annie Taylor is so interested in. And he is bound and determined to keep everyone away from the seal. Through her "whispering" detection, Becca also learns that Sharla is keeping secrets as well. When she locates baby clothes in an old trunk her imagination goes wild.

Then there's Eddie, the local loon. Becca encounters him with Diana Kinsale, out on the beach, with a rifle, vowing to "kill her." Neither Becca or Diana know who "her" is. Eddie continues to act erratically throughout the novel.

There are several other plots going on as well. None of them come together really well in the end. Readers learn that the mute woman is the daughter of Nera the seal. Both women are selkies.

The Derric/Courtney sideline didn't add anything to the story. The Annie/Jenn sexuality issues didn't add anything either. I felt like there was a good story in there somewhere, but George never quite got there.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Dit tweede deel van het fluistereiland was nog beter als het eerste deel!
Het eerste deel heb ik in augustus gelezen voor de leesclub van Chicklit NL. Nu, in oktober, werd er voor gekozen om deel 2 voor de leesclub te gaan lezen en ik kan je vertellen dat dat me heel goed is bevallen!

Deel 1 eindigt met een enorme cliffhanger. Deel 2 speelt hier bijna niet op 1. Dit vond ik wel een beetje raar. Hoe kun je nu deel 1 afsluiten met zo'n einde en dan in deel 2 hier eigenlijk weinig over te vertellen? Toch was het verhaal spannend en boeiend genoeg om me hier eigenlijk weinig over na te denken, enkel in het begin vroeg ik me dit regelmatig af. Ik zou het zelf niet doen, maar op zich paste het wel in het verhaal.

Het eerste deel van het fluistereiland kwam wat langzaam los voor mijn gevoel, ook bij dit deel kwam het verhaal wat langzaam op gang. Dit zorgde er ook voor dat de eerste 70 pagina's me nogal wat tijd gekost hebben. Toen ik daar eenmaal doorheen was en ik mezelf weer helemaal thuis voelde op het eiland, nam het boek echt een sneltreinvaart! Vanaf dat moment wilde ik het boek eigenlijk niet meer wegleggen!

In deel twee volgen we opnieuw hoofdpersoon Becca. Becca neemt een bijbaan om wat geld te verdienen. Via deze bijbaan krijgt ze duiklessen en komt ze in contact met Jenn, een oude bekende uit deel 1. Becca en Jenn stuiten al snel op een bizar verschijnsel, de zeehond Nera. Wat is er toch met deze Nera aan de hand? Waarom reageren mensen zo panisch op haar? En heeft ze echt mensen verwond?

In deel 1 was Jenn in het begin niet om uit te staan, maar aan het eind van het verhaal kreeg ik meer sympathie voor haar, aangezien ik meer over haar te weten kwam. In deel 2 worden stukken van het verhaal ook vanuit haar vertelt, waardoor je Jenn nog beter leert kennen. Ik vond Jenn echt zeer goed uitgewerkt in dit deel. Becca had geen geheimen meer voor de lezers in deel 2, wat eigenlijk wel prettig was. Jij weet de geheimen, maar de andere karakters in het boek niet, dit maakt het boek ook anders als deel 1.

Het verhaal is compleet anders als deel 1 (waar we op zoek zijn naar de reden van de val van Derric) en toch zo ontzettend spannend! Ik vond dit boek duidelijk spannender dan deel 1 en ik vond tevens het einde beter uitgewerkt. Ik denk wel dat je niet te lang moet wachten met het lezen van deel 2, aangezien je niet zo gek veel terugblikken hebt.

Het stuk over Cilia, waarmee het boek begint was echt heel bizar! Daar blijf je het hele verhaal mee bezig en past uiteindelijk ook perfect in het verhaal.

Al met al vond ik het einde echt fantastisch! Dit maakte het kabbelende begin echt goed. Het einde en eigenlijk het deel vanaf een bladzijde of 100 was voor mij wel 5 sterren waard, maar door het slome begin en het missen van de grote uitleg van de cliffhanger, heb ik dit boek 4 sterren gegeven. Dit heeft me zeeer nieuwsgierig gemaakt naar deel 3. Ik hoop dat ik daar niet te lang op hoef te wachten!

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to throw the towel in on this second book in the author's young adult Whidbey Island series. Maybe it's me but it seemed like characters were stereotypes and the dialogue felt forced. Would Jenn, a poor girl really set up an obstacle course that included a toilet seat? Also I didn't get why this book started first with the seal Cilla and then with Jenn McDaniels and not Becca King the protagonist of the first book in this series. Becca didn't appear until chapter 3. Also it felt like too many stories going on--the black seal, Becca's step dad, Becca's on again offf again relationship with Derrick, Derrik's relationship with his sister he left behind in Africa, Derick's relationship with Courtney, the Bible-toting girl who likes to do everything but intercourse, Jenn's budding sexuality, sexting, bullying. I gave up when Annie, the woman who came to study the black seal, donned a thong swimming suit and her nipples poked out and she stared openly at Jenn as she undressed. It seemed predatory,uncomfortable and out of place. What was the premise of this book?

[Steve Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book received through Goodreads First reads.

This novel appears directed to a young adult market and I would describe it best as a mystery novel which operates at several levels. While the main mystery and story line revolves around an unusual seal (NERA)who shows up annually at a small coastal line, mysteries and secrets are also part of the make up of each of the main characters involved in the book.

The strength of the book lies in its character development and witty dialogue. The story itself holds a reader's attention although I was somewhat disappointed (surprised) at the resolution of the mystery of the seal. This part of the story seemed too gimmicky and too contrived for my liking.

Still a solid and enjoyable read from start to finish.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little series by Elizabeth George is one of my summer guilty pleasures. While the writing isn't as good as in some of her other books, I enjoy the odd abilities of Becca (she can hear the whispers we think in our heads) and Diana Kinsale (she touches people and has visions). And Jenn has really come into her own, too! Without giving too much away, the novel is set on an island off the Washington state coast, where Becca uses her unusual talents (as well as the library and her brain) to discover the secret behind a coal black seal that keeps returning to the shores of this tiny town.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I hadn't won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway, I don't think I would have read it. I must say it was very disappointing.
The overall plot of this novel was messy and it felt like it was out of place and irrelevant.
I don't even know where to begin on the characters...I guess I just didn't find them interesting at all.

[Maureen Ellsworth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Teens deserve better than this. Plot line all over the place and not very believable. Characters shallow, undeveloped and not very believable. Reeks of bullying. In elementary schools we stopped using "Indian style sitting" 20 years ago! Mythology, mystery, AND paranormal a little too much for this reader.

[Janneke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het vorige boek vond ik eigenlijk 3,5 sterren waard, deze misschien 2,5, dus allebei afherond drie sterren gegeven. Terwijl ik het eerste boek dus wel beter vond dan dit tweede boek. Dit boek gaat voor een groot gedeelte over een zeehond en daar heb ik blijkbaar niet zoveel mee... Ik hoop op een beter verhaal in boek nummer drie!

[Sharneel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being an avid Elizabeth George fan, I was stunned to read this book. I would never have thought she was the author of this book. The characters are not nearly as well drawn and seem to lack depth. The storyline is very YA in nature and more than a bit superficial. What a disappointment.

[Jenny Geeroms · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the first book was okay and realistic, this one is really far-streched and completely exaggerated. Absurd even!

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in the YA "Edge" series, a new venture for George.

We met Becca King in the first of the series. She is hiding from her evil stepfather by living on the remote Whidbey Island in Washington state. Her mother is somewhere looking for a safe home for them both while Becca attends school and somehow gets by on her own on the island.

In this episode we learn more about Jenn McDonald and a lot more about Cilla. Jenn lives in a poor area where her family scrapes by. She tries to hide her circumstances, often covering up her pain with anger. One day a stranger moves into the decrepit trailer behind her house. Jenn meets Annie, a marine biologist working on a thesis. The thesis involves a strange black seal that shows up in the water at the same time every year. The seal's timing is so good that a festival has been created around the event. And Annie wants to know more. She learned that a large oil spill had happened not long before the seal started showing up and she wonders if the seal is a new species created from damaged genes from the spill. She wants to get close enough to grab some DNA.

There is a group on the island that will not let anyone near the seal, however. These Friends are essentially led by one man named Ivar, a passionate seal protector. It's no surprise that Annie and Ivar do not see eye-to-eye.

Cilla? We don't know who she is, only that she lets us in on a little of her life here and there. A bit of a diary told in tiny bits interspersed through the book. Until the big finale.

What with Becca's strange ability to hear "whispers" from others' minds, we are in for more supernatural than I typically like. Added to my general dissatisfaction with YA novels, I had to step back to evaluate this one. There is enough complexity and character development to keep me interested, so I will be continuing with the series.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in the Whidbey Island series. Becca King is running, hiding from her stepfather. She's taken refuge in a tree house built by her friend Sean on his grandfathers' property. It isn't ideal but it's working and she feels safe there. Jenn, Becca's nemesis, has a new neighbor. Annie Taylor is working on her dissertation hoping to become famous. She's interested in a seal named Nera who comes to the area every year at the same time....there's even a festival involved for the seal. Annie rents the trailer next to Jenn's. She rings Jenn under her wing to help in her efforts to find proof that the all black strange seal is a new species. The town people all seem to have an opinion about Nera, it's an intense subject with some wanting to kill the seal and others protecting it at all costs. Tensions run high. The girls Becca and Jenn get in the middle of it all trying to get to the real answers.
Meanwhile there's a girl who can't talk, can understand little, is very pale, injured, scared, alone and confused who seems to be driven to get somewhere....where she doesn't know but she goes following instinct.It isn't clear how she fits into the story but she's intriguing and keeps us interested.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the novel, The Edge of the Water. Honestly, to simply tell what it is about would not do it justice. Umm, so these teens live on this island in the Northwest, and there is this seal that keeps visiting every year. The whole town is obsessed with the seal. Some want to protect it at all costs, some want to kill it, and some want to exploit it.

This type of plot is normally not my cup of tea (I mean seals??), but throw in a love triangle, a poor girl trying to find her way out of a dead end town, grown ups behaving badly and some with secrets too painful to share, and a girl with paranormal powers; and the characters drove the story and made me wonder, "What is up with that seal?" and "When will I figure out how all this connects?".

My only disappointment is that this is book two in a series, which I did not realize. This didn't hinder my understanding or enjoyment, but I wonder if I know too much to go back to read number 1 and still be surprised with the plot twists. I do plan on check out the next book in the saga!

I think both male and female students will enjoy this book as it follows numerous different teen character points of view.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, this a Young Adult book and not everyone will like it. I really enjoyed it. I have now read books 1-3 in the series and will start book 4, the final book tomorrow. This book continued with the saga of Becca King, but more of the focus is on Jenn McDaniel. Jenn does not like Becca at all. The book tells us about how they overcame obstacles and became good friends. The book is also about a black seal, Nera, who returns every year on the same day to the island. The story of the seal is fascinating and a shocker.

Becca finally lands a real place to live while she waits for her mother. This happens at the very end of this book. No more spoilers. Fascinating book by one of the great writers of our time, Elizabeth George. i have read a number of her books in the Thomas Lynley series which is set in England.

Whidbey Island, the setting in this series is an island an part of the State of Washington.

[(Mark) EchoWolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend wanted me to read this, it's a book for teenagers, so not something I'd usually pick up, because I'm 67 years of age now. Somewhat surprisingly though, I found this very enjoyable, and was able to identify with the characters, including all the teenage characters, as well as the mythological ones, who gave this story a quirky bent.
A young 15 year old girl escapes to an island in order to avoid her stepfather, there she meets various characters while hiding out, but the mystery unfolds around a black seal who appears in the bay at the same time every year, and why some of the locals, particularly an elderly man, is trying to keep everyone away from the seal.
I'll give a little hint here, a little spoiler, but look up the term Selkie to see how this story evolves.
Overall, a surprisingly enjoyable read for an old man like me, and some of the banter and terminology that the young people use was also quite funny.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting plot.... Characters are getting more defined...

A mysterious girl who won’t speak; a coal black seal named Nera that returns to the same place very year; a bitter feud of unknown origin—strange things are happening on Whidbey Island, and Becca King, is drawn into the maelstrom of events.

But Becca, first met in The Edge of Nowhere, has her own secrets to hide. Still on the run from her criminal stepfather, Becca is living in a secret location. Even Derric, the Ugandan orphan with whom Becca shares a close, romantic relationship, can’t be allowed to know her whereabouts.

As secrets of past and present are revealed, Becca becomes aware of her growing paranormal powers, and events build to a shocking climax anticipated by no one.

[Doreen Mallett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange story. Reading this story makes me want to see into the mind of the writer. How does one think of something so odd and carry the oddity through 400 pages!
Reading about teenagers at school is not my typical choice and maybe if I knew that this was part of the theme throughout I would not have selected the book. I am glad I did though.

All through the story I kept wondering what is going on, where is this going, is the writer dreaming?
If you like intrigue this is the book for you. Not much detecting - I'd say.
I am glad I have added this writer to my list of 'so called' detective stories.

[Kristi Lamont · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book/am enjoying this series. That said, I want to complain about how a certain _major_ plot point was dealt with outside of/in between books one and two. But I can't do so without spoiling things for everyone else. Nor can I point out to myself and others how ridiculous it is that I would get so annoyed by something like that while on the other hand totally accepting the (nearly) unbelievable as so wonderfully depicted by Ms George. I wonder what surprises she has in store for me next!

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the hell did I just read?
And apparently the world is full of adults who are totally okay with a homeless teenager. And from the last book, a truant homeless teenager. This book was kind of a series of side stories about other characters and a seal. Becca was hardly the main character. How has she been abandoned by her mother for 6 months and isn’t concerned? Merely lonely?
Also, the author seems determined to give her readers body weight issues. All the main character does is talk about how fat she used to be and how skinny and great looking she is now.

[Valerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

As other reviewers have noted, I love Elizabeth George's adult writing and also enjoy some YA fiction, so I thought this would be a great series. But, there is too much of trying to add in all sorts of crazy experiences into this book to - possibly - appeal to the escapist visions of some, such as hiding out in a remote treehouse (that no one else knows about) in the winter in a Washington state island! Hey, you can't tell me that's really feasible. I had to give up reading when Cilla's story just became too disturbing.