I didn't realize this was the third in a series when I requested it; I imagine that is why I wasn't thrilled with it. I found myself speeding the narrator up just to get through it. Not for me!

The Oyster Diver's Secret - Caroline Safstrand

This book was so different and so right! Meja works temp jobs and when she is charged with helping Inez, a recluse author, an unlikely friendship blossoms. Inez hasn't written in years but she started to write about the time she spent with a girl, an oyster diver and the manuscript brings new things to light and a closure Inez didn't know she needed.

I loved it. Not my normal read but I am so glad I listened to it. Meja is the meek character just plodding along in her mediocre world with no real connections and Inez has shut herself off. They help each other in ways they didn't know they needed and I felt my heart swell as the book went on. I loved the writing and the beautiful descriptive way the author talks about the ocean and a friendship that was lost.

The narration was wonderful and I am so glad it ended the way it did. It is listed as a mystery but it was so much more than that. 4.5 stars

The Oyster Diver's Secret is a wonderful character-driven story about relationships. In particular, it focuses on the relationship between two mothers and their daughters: one from a reclusive retired author (Inez) whose relationship with her grown daughter is strained because the daughter resented the fact that she got carted around on book tours in her youth; and the other from the perspective of a 30-year old daughter (Meja) with self-esteem issues whose mother always resented the fact that her career and dreams were put on hold while she raised her daughter. I especially enjoyed the personal growth demonstrated by both women, including Inez breaking out of her hermit habits that developed over the past 10-years and the growth of Meja along the way. I also loved the secondary mystery that kept the story moving about Inez's relationship with an oyster diver. I listed to the audio version of this story narrated by Ann Richardson, which was superb! I highly recommend this audiobook and look forward to future translations by Swedish Author Carline Säfstrand!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook of The Oyster Diver's Secret.

I enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters Inez and Meja. This is a book that makes you think and examine things in our own life. Inez is in her seventies, and she is ready to get rid of things from her past. She begins the process of Swedish death cleaning. I thought this was an interesting concept. Preparing your house/life for when you pass away so that you are not a burden on your relatives. As she is going through this process, she is writing one last book that is a true story of her life.

Meja is a cleaner in her thirties that has been hired to help Inez declutter. Meja's life is stagnant. She goes to work, comes home to her boyfriend's place, and does her own thing while he plays video games. She is insecure and leads a life that does not cause ripples. Her mother and her have a very strained relationship and she has no friends.

As Meja and Inez work together a beautiful friendship forms. It is very strained in the beginning but as the book goes on it blossoms into two people navigating through uncharted territory.

This is a poignant novel about a reclusive, retired fiction author who decides to write one more story. This one, however, is autobiographical and tells the story of herself as a young lady and her best friend at the time. As she is writing and dealing with the feelings of returning to the past, her current life takes some interesting turns. She hires a cleaner to help her declutter her home, and she recognizes many characteristics of her novel characters in her. As their relationship develops, our main character might just find that there are still things in her own life worth living for and taking an interest in.

I appreciated the character-driven aspects of this novel. The plot was not too intense and the pacing was easy, but the characters were drawn with a skilled and vivid brush. Each of them had depth, flaws, strengths, back stories,, you name it. I especially liked the sometimes complicated relationships between the women in this book, and I think female readers will identify with many of them. There's also a touch of intrigue and a small bit of romance that adds an additional layer to explore. I would highly recommend this novel to readers of women's fiction and anyone who is looking to explore the idea of friendship in its many forms.

Reflective, introspective, heartwarming and compelling, The Oyster Divers Secret written by Caroline Säfstrand and written by
Ann Richardson is a sweet story of the bonds of friendship that come in the most unexpeceted ways, yet perservere and endure, grow and flourish

The storylines are primarily focussed on Inez and Meja. Inez is Seventy and trying to clear out the detritus accumulated over a lifetime. Meja is the woman who has come to help Inez clean out her home so she can write her last book. However, the immediate feeling was not one of camraderie, but intense dislike. However, as time goes on, and conversation flourishes, the two women develop the most unlikely, but absolutely the most heartwarming of friendships

The narration is gentle, and so well suited to this book. It is a story that merits returning to over and over again and this was the perfect narrator to choose for this book

Thank you to NetGalley, Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio, Caroline Säfstrand and narrated by Ann Richardson

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for my copy of The Oyster Diver's Secret by Caroline Säfstrand Narrated by Ann Richardson in exchange for an honest review. It publishes July 30, 2024.
First off, Ann Richardson did an excellent job narrating this book.
I really, thoroughly enjoyed this book. It would definitely make an excellent book club book. I loved the exploration of female relationships: Mother-daughter from the mother's POV, Daughter-mother, from the daughter's POV, women friends of the same age, and women friends with one being older. I found all of the ebbs and flows to be very realistic and beautiful. I loved the way some reached goals, broke free, followed their dreams, and solved lifelong mysteries.
Also, as a side note, I listened to this book while I was picking cherries, and now every time I pick cherries, I will think of this wonderful book.