The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island 

By Colleen Oakley

First of all, what a fun cover.  I am a sucker for fun, meaningful covers, and this one is a beaut.

I listened to this one, and am always curious after the fact how that experience would have been different had I actually read the page.  I would not say this is a great audiobook, but it was short and I needed something to listen to in the car.  So, I would probably say, read this one; it is not necessarily a great one for audio time (except it was short!).

But, as for the story - I enjoyed this one and how the truth unfolded.  A nice cozy mystery/romance, with a tragic loss, a curious journalist, and a community full of fun characters that will do anything to protect their own.  Even crazy stuff. 

A small island community lives simply and knows everyone.  When a young woman who grew up there and married her high school sweetheart experiences a tragic and mysterious loss, the community builds her up and keeps her afloat (ooops, sorry, too soon??) by pretending her husband is still alive.  Yes, they talk right to the empty space beside her.  When a city boy comes to report on the annual festival, he hears whispers of another, bigger story that he should be following, and the true investigation begins. 

Sounds light and airy as a shortcake, right?  Well, don't put away the pound cake yet because underneath all this icing is a deeper attempt to talk about mental health and grieving.  I think the author does a good job of balancing the two, and it all sorts itself out in the end in a most satisfying way, without the bow-wrapped happy ending you might expect, but a good ending none the less.  I like a happy ending as my book club well knows, but this one was more content, more realistic, and left a bit of hope too.  A fun read inside that fun cover!!