Although first published in 2006, Silver Bay only recently made it to American shores. I found it sitting on the “new adult fiction” shelf at my library and snatched it up. JoJo Moyes is among my favorite storytellers.

A small coastal town in Australia, reminiscent of those old beach towns before the developers moved in to modernize and attract hordes of tourists, provides the setting for this mix of romance and adventure.  The town survives through its tours of migrating whales, and its inhabitants have all lived there happily – until those developers discover it.

Kathleen, the 76 year old owner of the only hotel in town, has the deserved reputation of being the hard-crusted, soft-hearted matron.  Her niece, Liza, with her eleven year old daughter Hannah, have escaped from London to live with her.  Liza’s secret unravels as she connects with the young handsome Londoner who has come to town to secretly scout the possibilities for a new resort.

In addition to the romance, Moyes provides information on whales – not enough to rival Melville but adding an informative note to the narrative. The story evolved quickly and the book left me as satisfied as watching an old romantic movie on television.

Silver Bay is Moyes’ fourth novel, before The Last Letter from Your Lover (8th) and One Plus One (9th), her more popular books. Here’s a list with my reviews in red, if you’d like to look for more:

• Sheltering Rain (2002)
• Foreign Fruit (2003)
• The Peacock Emporium (2004)
• The Ship of Brides (2005)
•  Silver Bay (2007)
• Night Music (2008)
• The Horse Dancer (2009)
• The Last Letter from Your Lover  (2010)
• Me Before You (2012)
• Honeymoon in Paris (2013)
•  The Girl You Left Behind  (2013)
• One Plus One  (2014)
• After You (2015)