The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker - Joanna Nell

Description

A poignant ode to love and the memories that make a well-lived life, from the author of THE SINGLE LADIES OF JACARANDA RETIREMENT VILLAGE

As the wife of retired ship's doctor Dr Henry Parker, Evelyn is living out her twilight years aboard the Golden Sunset. Every night she dresses for dinner - gown, tiara, runners - and regales her fellow passengers with stories of a glamorous life travelling the world in luxury, as well as showing off her superior knowledge of everything from ships' customs to biographical details of her heroine, Florence Nightingale. The crew treat her with deference. And forbearance.

But when Henry goes missing, Evelyn sets off to search every part of the grand ocean liner to find him, casino, nightclub and off-limits areas included.

Misadventures are had, new friends are made, scandalous behaviour noted - all news to Evelyn. If only she could remember the events of the night before as clearly as she can recall the first time she met Henry on a passage from England to Australia in 1953 and fell in love, abandoning her dreams to become a midwife to be a wife instead - and the long-ago painful events that left Evelyn all at sea.

Why is it so hard to forget some things and so hard to remember others? And where is Henry?

Review

I really enjoyed the first book by this author, so I was looking forward to reading this one and it didn't disappoint. The only thing I would say is that at times I did find it incredibly sad.

Mrs Henry Parker as she likes to be known hails from the days when women always used their husbands name and not their own. She lives on a cruise ship with her husband who is Doctor for the ship, except she just can't seem to find him anywhere on board, no matter where she looks. 

Very early on we realise that Evelyn has dementia and it was so realistic that I wasn't sure I wanted to carry on reading. Having met all too many real life Evelyn's, her words and actions were very familiar to me and it was just sad. Yet again as with her previous book, the author's GP background makes the narrative spot on and true to life.

I did stick with the book, and I was rewarded with Evelyn's tales of her life, beginning with when she was just 21 years old. These parts of the book I absolutely loved, only to be brought back to the present day and Evelyn's confused mind. All through the book Evelyn continues to look for her husband, crossing off on the map of the ship everywhere she has looked for him.

Why I wondered did they continue to let her stay on the ship? When she is obviously becoming more and more confused. I really thought at this point that I knew what was going to happen. The ending when it came was surprising with a hint melancholy yet also so satisfying. 

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.