Secrets

The House In The Water by Victoria Darke is a marvellous dual timeline novel that I just could not put down. It is set in 1943 and 2013. The chapters alternate between the two time periods. The war years are told by a mixture of letters and narration. The house is the key on which everything hangs.

In 1943 the house is used by the army to treat soldiers who are battle scarred. “Their scars might be invisible, but they are no less real.” Today we would recognize PTSD but not in 1943. There were some very primitive methods used to treat mental illness, including electric shock therapy. These poor men received brutal treatment. Mental illness was not understood.

We also meet a nurse who is battling her own demons. She also has PTSD but shockingly “the army is not interested in treating women, even those who almost died in an enemy attack.”

The action in 1943 is seen through the nurse’s eyes. We get to know her intimately. She is kind and she is brave.