Alice's Island

A Novel

By: Daniel Sánchez Arévalo

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

A happily married woman's perfect life shatters when her husband turns up dead hundreds of miles away from where he should have been, and she suddenly discovers there was a part of him about which she knew nothing.

Alice Dupont’s perfect marriage was a perfect lie. When her husband, Chris, dies in a car accident far from where he should have been, Alice’s life falls apart. After the police close the case, she is left with more questions than answers. While learning to cope with her loss and her new identity as a single mother of two, Alice becomes obsessed with unraveling the mystery surrounding her husband’s death and decides to start her own investigation. Retracing her husband's last known whereabouts, she soon discovers clues that lead her to a small island near Nantucket.

As she insinuates herself into the lives of the island’s inhabitants in an effort to discover what they knew about her husband, Alice finds herself increasingly involved in their private lives and comes to a disturbing realization: She has been transformed into a person she no longer recognizes.

In seeking an answer to what her husband was doing before he died, Alice discovers not only a side of him she never knew, but sides of her own character she has never explored. Part mystery, part moving family drama, part psychological pause-resister, Alice’s Island is a novel whose vivid characters hold the listener rapt right up until the final moment.

©2019 Daniel Sánchez Arévalo (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

Such a clever story!

I couldn’t stop listening to this beautifully narrated mystery! I will miss Alice now that the story has ended!

Decent Story

I overall enjoyed this book since I didn't have to physically read it, and could just have it as background noise on my commutes. at points it dragged on and the ending was too "nice and sweet" and didn't feel realistic at all. okay book, performance was better then the writing.

not melodramatic-interesting storyline progression

This book is about Alice, a pregnant, 33-year-old mother of a 6-year-old daughter whose husband dies in a car accident very far from where he was supposed to be. As a grieving widow and expecting a new baby very soon, Alice focuses her energy into scrutinizing every single movement of her late husband in the months leading to his death by collecting surveillance film from stores and businesses along the route he took. This leads her to an island between Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard that she has never been to and to her previous knowledge, neither has her husband. From this point and on, she never stops her search for answers to the mystery that surrounded her husband's death.

I found the book to be very well-written, the way she initially grieves is seemingly superficial but it all fits in well overall. The character development is strong and I really didn't know if the plot was going to end up being something super depressing or shocking etc but I think the author did a good job of building up to a satisfying conclusion. She started to get really sketchy in her investigative methods of finding answers and a little excessive at times, but the storyline stays supportive with her actions.

It wasn't overly dramatic and tragic like I thought it would be, which was a plus for me. My interest was held the entire time and I'd recommend the book.

Way too many suspects!

This book is just silly. The entire story about how she finds where her husband has been to her spy pictures is entirely unbelievable. Had to make myself finish the book.

Sappy

I am still perplexed as to why I finished this book. So incredibly boring, trite and uneventful. I couldn’t care less for any of the characters. So disappointed

Suspense?

Thought I would try a different author and I found this book while looking at "suspense" books. This was not at all suspenseful to me, seemed to be more of a story about someone who had trouble with telling the truth and with handling diversity. Had the narrator not been easy to listen to I would have quit listening after about 15 minutes. I kept thinking the main character would figure out her children needed her and would stop the 'wild goose chase' she was on but was disappointed there also.

long and boring with zero plot twist

A rough listen (this was a book club pick so I was obliged to finish it). The narrators voice for the kid was so grating! The story was boring and the payoff at the end disappointing.