The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

The Invisible Island of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

ARC from Berkley and Netgalley for an honest review. 

Book Blurb:

Piper Parrish’s life on Frick Island—a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay—is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom’s crab boat capsized and his body wasn’t recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her, cooking him breakfast, walking him to the docks each morning, meeting him for their standard Friday night dinner date at the One-Eyed Crab. And what were the townspeople to do but go along with their beloved widowed Piper?
Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. A young ambitious journalist, he’d rather hoped he’d be a national award-winning podcaster by now, rather than writing fluff pieces for a small-town newspaper. But when he gets an assignment to travel to the remote Frick Island and cover their boring annual Cake Walk fundraiser, he stumbles upon a much more fascinating tale: an entire town pretending to see and interact with a man who does not actually exist. Determined it’s the career-making story he’s been needing for his podcast, Anders returns to the island to begin covert research and spend more time with the enigmatic Piper—but he has no idea out of all the lives he’s about to upend, it’s his that will change the most.

My Review: 4 stars

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The Invisible Husband of Frick Island was a joy to read as I spent many a summer at Rehoboth beach, which is near this fictional island. This book was a like recipe with equal parts of sweetness, sadness, hope and heartbreak. 

Anders, the male protagonist of the book, had always dreamt of being the reporter Clark Kent, not the kryptonite fearing, superhero version. He was more complicated than I thought he’d be as he uncovered so much about himself while discovering Frick Island. Piper was a one-of-a-kind character – beloved, maybe crazy, lost and lonely. She was hiding and grieving until Anders started poking holes in her shield of protection. 

The island was a character in itself – completely resistant to change, solitary, unyielding, warm, helpful to the locals, dry as a bone and utterly small. Watching how the townspeople grew and began to open themselves up to new ideas was done quite well. All of Oakley’s books have a sense of magic to them and this one was no exception. Her writing is smooth and enjoyable. Nothing fancy or erudite, just regular conversations and thoughts for her characters. Reading this during the cold, winter months made me itch for a warm beach where I could dip my toes in the sand, dine on crabs and read a book. It really was a fine escape and unique storyline. 

Quotes I liked:

He often thought bookshelves could tell you more about a person than the inside of their bathroom cabinet.”