Thomas’ latest novel is set near Georgian Bay. Isla is a chef and runs an upscale, successful restaurant. Her partner, Jake, is an artist. His family had a cottage in the area and he spent his childhood summers there, often with a classmate, Reg. Reg is now a wealthy businessman who has built a magnificent lodge where the cottages used to be. The two men have had no contact for many years. This novel is a mystery with themes of greed, climate change and power.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Wild Hope releases September 19, 2023

2.5

<i>“If you can envision it, can you therefore create it?”</I>

Within a Canadian setting, we have the pov’s of Isla (a chef), and Jake (an artist).

There are a lot of layers and connections between Isla and Jake, their parents, and the both of them with Reg — personally, scholarly, and professionally.

A lot of time is spent building up the characters, and I kept waiting and waiting for the missing person element to kick in. Perhaps if this was presented in a then/now timeline, it would have kept it more engaging.

Every time someone tried to talk about Jake’s art, it felt so uninspired, and I really couldn’t see the compatibility between him and Isla.

Isla, being an autodidact, at times reminded me a lot like the character from <I>Where the Crawdads Sing</I>, with their similarities of writing a book — Kya with nature, and Isla with foraged food in the structure of an alphabet.

As I’m someone who has pursued a culinary degree professionally, the farm-to-table restaurant aspect of the plot was what initially drew me in, but I was left feeling a bit too detached.

I would recommend this for lit fic lovers on a slow afternoon, and would caution those hoping for more of a mystery blend to dampen their expectations.