Improbable Rendezvous

by Tom Ferry

War historians may disagree over whether Japan had plans to invade Australia in WW2, but all will agree three Japanese midget submarines came into Sydney Harbour with serious intent in 1942. But little has surfaced [until now] of a fourth midget submarine and the story of survival of one of the Japanese crew.

Alone and adrift, he was hauled aboard a coastal steamer only to be dumped on remote Lord Howe Island with another unwelcome passenger. The two survived in the wild before an island woman came on the scene. Denied the pleasures of island life, the submariner was inhumanely interned until an amorous liaison secured his passage to freedom.

64 years later a bestselling Japanese novelist lands in Sydney to speak at a writers' seminar. From the moment a young woman steps into his hotel room he is on an emotional rollercoaster. The hotel receptionist is an added distraction, while a woman with her own agenda takes him in hand, leading him to an improbable rendezvous with the submerged past---an encounter that rocks him to the core of his being.

ebook

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Ben Chenoweth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel's shtick is wondering how the two timelines interact: one is set in Australia during WW2, the other in Sydney in the present. The writing style is pretty good. But I was left puzzled by some of the characters' motivations quite often. All in all, an interesting read.