The Secrets of Sunshine by Phaedra Patrick (Review by Jody Garnham)

The Secrets of Sunshine is a lovely heart-warming story that details a journey through grief, of love and loss and friendship. A perfect summer by-the-beach read, it is light enough to follow along whilst also dreamily catching your attention with its’ elements of mystery. The story focuses on a single dad named Mitchell who is trying to move on with his life after the death of Anita, the love of his life and mother of his child. It was a refreshing change to have a male focal point and to see how he was trying to handle raising his daughter in difficult circumstances yet read how their relationship deepened through communicating their grief. After a whirlwind incident occurring whilst Mitchell was at work, it begins his quest to find the lady on the bridge that he rescued that day. He soon discovers she is a missing person and so the search for the truth begins. As he battles his guilt over Anita’s death whilst wanting the best for his daughter you see how he becomes more open and willing to move on. The book has a theme of letter writing woven through the story which brings about an interesting additional layer to the story. Highlighting the intimacy of expressing yourself in a letter is a wonderful link to the on-going situation with COVID where people have now resorted to more traditional methods of communicating such as writing letters and sending parcels. It was also a lovely addition of the padlocks on the bridge, tales of true love linking different components of the story. What I enjoyed most about this book is that you were able to experience the journey of the lovable characters and enjoy an interesting yet light-hearted read. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an engaging summer love story.