The scene is set on Saratoga Island, one of the small islands off of the coast of Washington State, in the wet, chill rainy season of winter so there will be ghosts. Those creaky stairs and echoing footsteps and voices just far enough away so you can't understand what they are saying. Is this island haunted by more than creeping mold and disillusioned, lonely adults for the most part pushing retirement age or above it? Is the fact that the cemetery hold more people lying down than there are standing up relevant?

Peopled with whale enthusiasts, spinning and knitting addicts, an animal and people whisperer, and the odd fisherman, this is an excellent tale. The prose is musical, the people interesting and sympathetic, and despite the weather and echoing footsteps and endless rain you really would like to spend time in this location - in the summer, of course. And maybe learn to spin wool, and pass the time with Emmie and Maggie and Grace and David. You will want to help Alex heal from her turbulent decade plus with Daniel.

The back stories on these characters are what sets this mystery apart. You know early on that you have to see what makes these folks tick, what formed them into the gentle, charismatic people that they are. And you will not be disappointed.

I was hooked from the very beginning by both the interesting characters and the story line. The plot kept me guessing. I thought I had it figured out, but then the ending surprised me.

The Music of the Deep is a title with at least one double entendre. On the surface (no pun intended) it refers to studying how whales communicate, which is what one of the characters has made her life’s work. On a deeper level, it refers to the undercurrents of energy that flow in and out of ourselves and all creatures, living and sometimes dead, in connecting with the Universe.

Alexandra has fled from her violently abusive husband to a tiny island off the northern coast of Washington to help Maggie, the scientist who has been studying a particular pod of orcas, organize and catalogue boxes and boxes of data, which, as a librarian specializing in archiving, she’s well-qualified to do. She meets an interesting cast of characters called the “spinsters,” called that not because they are all old, unmarried, women (although some are), but because they find comfort and community in spinning wool into yarn and then knitting with it. These people, including Emmeline, who reads energy, plus the curmudgeonly Maggie, who introduces her to the mystical music of the deep that is whale language, as well as the majestic beauty of these wild creatures, become Alex’s community when she most desperately needs one.

Through glimpses of the past, we learn just how evil her soon to be ex husband is: how he abused and demeaned her emotionally and physically in a well crafted plan to gain total dominion of her, scrutinizing her every purchase from Starbucks, and beating the living daylights out of her just because he can. We also learn the backstories of Maggie and Emmeline and their children. All of this detail serves to illuminate the pervasive darkness that literally and figuratively surrounds this isolated but naturally beautiful little spot in the Pacific Northwest. And, when Alex’s worst fears are realized, it is this little support group that saves her, in a terrifying climax in the midst of a horrendous display of Nature’s fury as the backdrop.

I enjoyed this book, which I received as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The author has certainly done her research on whales, and it shows. Her portrayal of domestic violence and the insidious ways its perpetrators work their evil is spot on. While not a survivor of this myself, I have friends and colleagues from whom I’ve learned first hand how these narcissistic sociopaths wreak their havoc. This could have been two books that would have admirably stood on their own - one about whales and one about domestic violence. Ms. Hall’s brilliant juxtaposition of multigenerational families of marine mammals that stay together and support each other with an instance of a supposedly loving marriage gone terribly bad makes for an excellent read.

This is a well written story of a woman trying to get a fresh start after the death of her mother and running away from an abusive relationship. The scenery is beautiful and many times I found myself right there beside Alexandra.

The story also includes and hopefully brings to light what is happening to our orca population.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this advanced readers copy.

There's something a bit surreal, that's lurking beneath the surface of who Alex Turner is. She shows up in a small town with a black eye and takes up work alongside a Marine Biologist, Maggie, and as the two work together, the author slowly peels every layer of each character. What starts out as a hunch slowly takes form and it had me going for a while. I delved into and enjoyed how vivid the characters were. There was a point in the story where it felt flat for a brief second and I struggled to catch up towards the end. Yes, I felt the ending was rushed, but this did not take away the character's personalities from me. My heart broke for Alex, and the abuse she endured, and at some point, I was so furious I almost flung my tablet across the wall because I wanted to get in there and get her out. I was left appreciating true friendship, the power of understanding and above all, the beauty of healing and forgiveness. Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC. Lovers of fiction would surely grasp a thing or two from this book.

A suspenseful drama type novel with lots of interesting facts about whales and how they live. Alex has been on the run from an abusive husband in New Mexico and landed in Washington state for a new job/life. She takes a job on writing up and organizing a marine biologist's memoirs and recordings in a small town on Puget Sound area. Alex meets a lot of interesting people in the town including Maggie, (her employer) Emme (the town "witch), and the spinsters group of people who weave. People talk and whisper about ghosts in the town and in the house she is living in. Alex works hard to try and forget her sad past of the death of her mother and the horrible relationship she is in. Some nights she hears strange noises and doors opening and closing and wonders if it's ghosts or her ex coming to scare her. In between all this she follows Maggie out on the seas to explore and record info about the whales. I found this book to be suspenseful, and very interesting facts about whales. Everything leads up to a dramatic ending where Daniel finds out where she is living and comes to confront her but her new friends help will change her life for the better.

This was a bit less of a thriller than I’d hoped for but it was still an interesting, well-written book.

This is the first I have read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The mysteries surrounding the area and the people there were just enough to keep you going.

I voluntary read an advanced copy from Netgalley.

This book was fine. It definitely had promise, and I think Hall is a good writer, but the story itself fell flat for me. Things worked out too nicely and too easily, and the culmination of the main plot felt very rushed. I also thought that the different character's plotlines didn't add much to the book, and that Hall would've been better served by focusing on one character's story. The transitions between the plots were also rather jarring at times.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC.
This was a moving, beautiful book filled with likeable characters and lovingly researched information about orcas.
Alexandra Turner has fled to a small coastal town on Puget Sound after the death of her mother, finally escaping her abusive 11-year marriage. She will be working for a local marine biologist; an enigmatic, driven woman who has dedicated her life to the plight of the orcas. She's also introduced and welcomed by a local knitting group, jokingly named 'the spinsters'.
Haunted by the death of her mother and the terrible years spent with her husband, she has trouble sleeping, plagued by unwelcome dreams and thoughts of her past. It also looks like the house she's staying in is haunted. Is her fractured mind playing tricks on her?
I really enjoyed this book, the atmosphere was lovely and I particularly loved the orca theme. The ending is bittersweet; the women have forged strong bonds, but the future for the orcas looks bleak...hopefully this book will bring more awareness and turn the tide if it's at all possible.

For Alexandra Turner, it’s a second chance. She’s left a violent and unpredictable husband for a job studying orcas on Puget Sound. Alex wants to dismiss the locals claims that her new “hometown” is one of the most haunted in Washington state. Already on edge from the years she spent married to an abusive husband, Alex finds herself jumping at every little noise, at the things she sees out of the corner of her eye. Is her new home really haunted, or has her past come looking for her? A beautifully told story of a woman trying to escape a terrible and violent past

A hauntingly, beautiful story featuring several extraordinary women, battling their own demons, overcoming life's trials and forging a friendship surrounded by a spiritually alluring Puget Sound coastal town.