A review by eileen9311
The Captain's Daughter by Meg Mitchell Moore

4.0

While this was a story of troubled people dealing with real challenges, the novel wasn’t dark. Nor was it chick lit or a frothy beach read. Set on the picturesque coast of Maine where the background was very much a part of things, The Captain’s Daughter was almost instantly engaging. I could smell the salt air and see the sunsets, but then New England has always been close to my heart! The quaintness of the old fishing town, the quirkiness of the folks, the down east mindset and strength of character – they all enriched the telling. The plot revolves around Meg, a suburban housewife who has married into a life of privilege and must return to her seriously ill father, Charlie, and the small fishing town where she grew up. Contrasts between her current patrician lifestyle and her roots are rendered convincingly in an understated way. Ghosts of the past and relationship insecurities combine to produce a most readable tale! A minor observation might be the predictability element, as the stage is definitely set. That doesn’t amount to a negative, however. Particularly moving for me was the author’s final paragraph in the acknowledgements section following the conclusion, in which she explained how she arrived at the dedication for her novel.
‘As I was finishing the final edits on this book my father-in-law, Frank Moore, lost his battle with lung cancer. I conceived this book and wrote most of it before he became ill, but now I see that some of the best qualities of Frank and some of the best qualities of the character Charlie Sargent echo each other – hardworking men who loved their families and lived lives that might have looked quiet from the outside but brimmed over from the inside. I like to think of the spirits of both living on.’
I also enjoyed The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore, and I’m glad this was another keeper! Four stars.