A Single Breath    by Lucy Clarke Order:  USA  Can Touchstone, 2014 (2014) Softcover, CD, e-Book      Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth Eva had been married for eight months when her husband Jackson, fishing off rocks on the southern English coast, is swept away by huge waves to his death. His body is never recovered. Feeling at a total loss, she decides to visit her father-in-law (whom she has never met) in Tasmania in order to grieve together. I've always wanted to visit Tasmania and author Lucy Clarke has given me that opportunity with her stellar novel, A Single Breath. Her first novel, Swimming at Night, was breathtakingly beautiful and is also not to be missed. When Jackson's father more or less ignores Eva, she travels on to Wattleboon Island off the coast, where Jackson's brother Saul lives. There she learns that all was not what she believed in her marriage. Nor was Jackson the man she thought he was. It seems that everything her husband had told her about his life before meeting her was a downright lie. While coming to grips with the fact that the man she thought she married did not exist, Eva finds herself attracted to Jackson's older brother. Is it because Saul reminds her of who she thought her husband was or is it true attraction? Clarke has her finger on the pulse of what makes us all tick. And she writes glowingly, so much so that it is very easy to get caught up in Eva, Saul, and Jackson's lives. In Jackson, Clarke has created a man whom we all know but almost wish we didn't. Eva tries to do what she thinks is right but does give in to her own emotions. Will you figure out the ending? I did but that did not diminish my enjoyment of a very well-written novel about the vicissitudes of life. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews