Fiona and the Whale by Hannah Lynn
Fiona and the
Whale
With her
personal life on the rocks, it's going to take a whale sized miracle to keep
her afloat.
Event
planner Fiona Reeves did not have her husband's sudden departure on her
schedule. However, she’s certain that it's only a hiccup and he'll be back in
no time, begging for forgiveness. Fortunately there’s a distraction of mammoth
proportions swimming in the River Thames.
Absorbed
by the story of Martha the sperm whale, Fiona attempts to carry on life as
usual as she awaits her husband's return. However, nothing can prepare her
for the dramatic turn of events that throws her life into ever greater
turmoil. The road ahead has many paths and for Fiona it’s time to sink or
swim.
Fiona and the Whale
is a poignant and often hilarious contemporary fiction novel. If you enjoy
topical tales, second chances and a little bit of romance, you'll love this new
book from the Kindle Storyteller Award Winner, Hannah Lynn.
This could be called a coming-of-age novel, just not the first love, blossoming into adulthood type. It is about a woman who thought she was doing life right, had what she considered a successful marriage. After all, it did last into its second decade! Her son has done well in school and has headed off to university, already having some life skills to take care of himself. Fiona's own business has grown and niched through many hours of her dedication, and with the help of a few well made introductions to clients of her husbands's.
And then Martha the whale swims up the Thames. Holly, Fiona's best friend, takes her to yoga class and a new-age type sustainable restaurant, and for whatever reason, Fiona's eyes are opened. She wonders how successful her life has really been up to this point. What has been her impact on the world?
Some readers have mentioned they did not care for Fiona, felt her cold and self absorbed. I found her to be focused, and capable of extreme emotional reactions. I felt the urgency and increased tension in various sections of this book. Although I appreciated Hannah checking in with us, I was always anxious to continue to watch things unfold for Fiona.
I will say the author succeeded where others have failed and I am now very much more aware of my use of a material in daily life. How that will change going forward? Time will tell.
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07XWSRRT9 Amazon UK
Chapter One
Two suitcases, umpteen plastic carrier bags, and an oversized
rucksack lined the hallway. Fiona stood on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around
her son, and squeezed.
‘Are you sure you don’t mind us not coming?’ she
asked, releasing him and dropping down onto her heels. ‘I’ll have to rearrange
a few things, but if you give me half an hour to ring the office and send a few
emails—’’
‘Mum.’ Joseph placed his hand on her shoulders. ‘It’s
fine. I’ve got this. Everything’s sorted. Dad’ll drop me at the station, and I’ll
get a taxi at the other end.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘Honestly. It’s not like I’m going away forever.’
‘Well it feels like it is.’
Casting an eye around the downstairs hall, a
mixture of pride, excitement, and terror pulsated through her in waves. Her
tiny little baby was all grown up and heading off to university.
‘You’re sure you’ve got everything you need?’
‘I’m sure.’
‘I gave him a selection of pots and pans out of
the kitchen too—’ Stephen appeared down the stairs ‘—and a couple of pieces of
crockery and cutlery to take with him.’
‘You did?’ Fiona turned, a thick frown line
creasing between her eyebrows. ‘Which ones? Plates that is? Nothing that was
part of a set?’
‘I don’t think so. They were on their own.’
‘Well, can I check before you take them? I don’t
want to be left with a mismatched dinner service the next time we have people
round to eat.’ Leaving her son, she crossed the hall into the adjoining dining
room, where more bags had overflowed.
‘Which one did you pack them in?’ she said to
neither of the men in particular.
‘I can’t remember,’ Joseph replied. ‘One of the
rucksacks I think.’
Crouching down, Fiona tugged a zip on the small
red rucksack by her feet.
‘This one?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Fiona, is that really necessary right now?’
Stephen’s frown lines were almost a mirror image of hers, lost between one or
two more permanent wrinkles. ‘We need to get going.’
‘Is it necessary to check that you haven’t sent
him off to university with part of my mother’s Anna Weatherly dining set? Yes.
What colour were the plates he gave you?’ she directed her question back to
Joseph, while freeing the zip on whatever it had caught on.
‘Yellow maybe? Or blue?’
‘Fiona, please.’ Stephen dropped his hand onto
the top of the bag, squashing it down. ‘I didn’t give him your mother’s china.’
‘I thought you said you couldn’t remember what
it looked like?’
‘I know what your mother’s Anna Weatherly looks
like. And it hasn’t come out of the back cupboard in over a year.’
The condescending edge to his tone tingled down
her spine.
‘We used it the last time Kat and Paul came over
for dinner,’ she corrected him.
‘Which was over a year ago.’
Stephen fixed his eyes on hers with absolute
assurance. Fiona raced through her memory, trying to check the dates in her
head. It was so frustrating when he did this, pushed a point so far, even
though he was most certainly wrong. And now she had to come across as the
pedantic one.
‘No,’ she pointed her finger with the smug
satisfaction that came with always being right. ‘Your birthday. Eight months
ago. We always use it on our birthdays.’
‘Not last year,’ Stephen said, his face
impassive. ‘I had to head to Swansea, remember? And then you had a conference
to set up for.’
A pause spread out between them.
‘And I ordered Chinese and you got pissed off at
all the mess I left,’ Joseph added, obviously feeling the need to join in.
‘Of course, you did.’ The moment clicked into
Fiona’s mind. How could she have forgotten? She arrived back home – after eighteen
hours out of the house – feet throbbing, head pounding, and desperate for a glass
of wine. What she’d found in her exhausted state was an entire worktop covered
in congealing patches of sweet and sour sauce, with fried rice strewn
everywhere from the fridge to the floor, and a general smell of grease in the
air. By the time she’d cleaned up the mess, and had a shower to remove the soy
sauce stench – along with all the other collective aromas of the day and
general griminess – from her skin, it had been nearly three.
‘And now someone else will have to deal with
your mess.’ She grinned.
‘So, definitely no Anna Weatherly involved then,’
Stephen said, the smallest of smirks on his lips. ‘Now, I have to get going. I
do have a job to get to too.’
‘If you’d rather I took him?’
‘No, it’s fine. I already said it’s fine. I’ve
got something I need to sort out, anyway.’
The clock in the hall ticked loudly, zeroing in
on some intangible sensation that Fiona couldn’t quite place. With a long
inhale, she pouted, rubbed her temples then smiled. ‘I guess it’s a good job we’re
going away next week.’ She placed her hand in her husband’s arm and smiled. ‘We
probably both need the break.’ After seeing her smile fleetingly reciprocated by
her husband she turned back to Joseph. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to come
with us? It’s Belgium. A chocolate and a spa hotel. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too
late to get you an extra room.’
‘And miss fresher’s week?’ he raised his
eyebrows. ‘No chance. It’s fine. Just bring me back a load of chocolate for
when I come home and to get my washing done.’
It was Fiona’s turn to raise an eyebrow.
‘If you think I’m doing your washing you’ve got me
confused with someone else’s mother.’
Joseph laughed and looped his arm round his
mother’s shoulders.
‘How did you grow up so fast?’ she said causing
him to laugh again. He had such a sweet laugh, the same as he had as a child,
only deeper. It felt like only a week ago they’d been on holiday in the
Seychelles, digging giant holes in the sand for him to bury himself in. And now
he was towering over her, making her feel both incredibly small and incredibly
old at the same time.
‘Right, that’s enough sentimentality for us.’
She blinked herself out of the moment. ‘You’ll miss your train and your dad,
and I have got work to get to.’
‘I’ll check for the plates when I get there,’ he
said, arm still resting on her. ‘I’ll bring anything I shouldn’t have back with
me next time I’m home.’
Nodding mutely, a flat-footed Fiona wrapped her
arms around her son and took one last long deep inhale. He hadn’t even gone
yet, and the house felt emptier, like part of ‘its soul had been stored in
Joseph’s belongings and now he was taking it with him.
‘You’re going to have so much fun,’ she said. ‘Just
stay safe and work hard.’
‘I know.’
‘And it’s going to be quiet around here,’ she
said.
‘It is,’ Stephen agreed, standing back and
observing his son and wife. ‘It is going to be very quiet indeed.’
Hannah Lynn is an
award-winning novelist. Publishing her first book, Amendments – a dark,
dystopian speculative fiction novel, in 2015, she has since gone on to write
The Afterlife of Walter Augustus, a contemporary fiction novel with a
supernatural twist – which won the 2018 Kindle Storyteller Award and the Gold
Medal for Best Adult Fiction ebook at this year’s IPPY Awards – and the
delightfully funny and poignant Peas and Carrots series.
While she freely moves
between genres, her novels are recognisable for their character driven stories
and wonderfully vivid description.
She is currently
working on a YA Vampire series and a reimaging of a classic Greek myth.
Born in 1984, Hannah
grew up in the Cotswolds, UK. After graduating from university, she spent ten
years as a teacher of physics, first in the UK and then around Asia. It was
during this time, inspired by the imaginations of the young people she taught,
she began writing short stories for children, and later adult fiction Now as a
teacher, writer, wife and mother, she is currently living in the Austrian Alps.
For up-to-date news and access to exclusive promotions follow her on
For up-to-date news and access to exclusive promotions follow her on
Twitter @HMLynnauthor
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