Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the review copy of “Beyond the Graves Waits Mist and Sea” by Kathleen Kaufman.
I have read quite a few books with the theme of an outsider coming to an isolated community and finding the urge to come in and be accepted, some better than others. This one wasn’t bad, overall. Harper is in the final stretch of her PhD and is given the opportunity to lead a team of scientists trying to find confirmation of a new octopus species. This is essentially her last chance before funding for the project is cut and she’s out of time to complete her degree. I appreciated Harper’s take-charge attitude as she meets her team. Her concern and frustration as the weather refuses to cooperate with the research plan is relatable, and her warranted fear of running out of time is something I know all scientists and researchers face (hello, writing deadlines).
I started to lose interest in the story as Harper began to focus more on the island and its history than on her actual purpose for being on the island in the first place. Feeling a sense of connection and wanting to stay is all well and good, and there’s no reason she couldn’t go back to the island after defending her thesis, but walking away from her work isn’t going to complete said thesis.
By the end of the book, Harper’s work feels like an afterthought, kind of “She lived happily ever after. Oh, and got her PhD. The end.” Really, not a bad book, but not one I’ll read again.
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