The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley – a Review

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Description:
In the autumn of 1707, old enemies from the Highlands to the Borders are finding common ground as they join to protest the new Union with England. At the same time, the French are preparing to launch an invasion to bring the young exiled Jacobite king back to Scotland to reclaim his throne, and in Edinburgh the streets are filled with discontent and danger.

Queen Anne’s commissioners, seeking to calm the situation, have begun paying out money sent up from London to settle the losses and wages owed to those Scots who took part in the disastrous Darien expedition eight years earlier—an ill-fated venture that left Scotland all but bankrupt.

When the young widow of a Darien sailor comes forward to collect her husband’s wages, her claim is challenged. One of the men assigned to investigate has only days to decide if she’s honest, or if his own feelings are blinding him to the truth.

The Vanished Days is a prequel and companion novel to The Winter Sea, with action that overlaps some of the action in that book. The Vanished Days goes back in time to the 1680s and introduces the reader to the Moray and Graeme families.

Review:

The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley is a prequel to her The Winter Sea novel.  I have not read the first book in this series, but this did read well as a standalone.  The Vanished Days is a historical fiction that takes place in Scotland during the 1700’s. There is a lot of history throughout the book, which covers in the early 18^th century and back to the late 17^th century; with rising chaos & danger between various protests between the Union with England & the Jacobites to bring back their King. 

The Vanished Days is somewhat slow for the first half of the book, since there is a lot of information, history, politics, which makes it a difficult review to write; however when we get to spend more time with the heroes of this story, it keeps us glued.  

Adam Williamson, our hero, is the narrator of the story, as he is assigned to decide on a case.  Lily Aitcheson /Graeme, a young widow, is requesting compensation for her deceased sailor husband’s pension, but no one can prove she was married.  Adam and another person assigned to the case (Gilroy), meet with Lily to question her about her marriage, and the certificate she has given them.  The story then unfolds between Lily as a young girl, who struggled between threats of abuse, and into a family that she spent her later years, as well as the current timeline, trying to prove her marriage was valid.

I really liked Lily, and saw the harshness she suffered to survive a difficult world, and admire her strength.  Jaime Graeme was her childhood boyfriend and best friend, who promised that he would always be there for her; but with all the chaos surrounding the families, Lily was moved around to different homes.  Many years later, she runs into Jaime, and now upon his death during the wars, she is desperately trying to fight for her rights. Adam quickly finds himself attracted to the sweet and beautiful Lily, and is determined to do everything in his power to help her. 

What follows is a slow detailed history of the past and the current times, with Adam trying to prove Lily’s innocence, and Gilroy feeling she is lying.  There are many secrets revealed along the way, as well and a wild amazing surprise closer to the end.  With that said, I do not want to reveal anything else, as it would be spoilers. The Vanished Days was well written by Susanna Kearsley, with a lot of intrigue, action, suspense, and surprising twists.  If you enjoy historical romance with lots of detailed history, you should read The Vanished Days.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher