Finally it was there, the final book in the really popular “The Seven Sisters” series by Lucinda Riley. As she passed away in 2021 to cancer, she couldn’t finish this series herself. Her son Harry Whitaker granted his mom’s wish and finished the final book. He and Riley co-wrote several childeren’s books together. However, many people were eagerly awaiting this final book as the story of the mysterious Pa Salt was revealed. I was one of them and listened to the 25-hour audiobook, narrated by Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton.
- Title: Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt
- Author: Lucinda Riley, Harry Whitaker
- Series: The Seven Sisters #8
- Publication date: May 11, 2023
- Publisher: Macmillan
- ISBN: 9781529043532
- Number of pages: 784
- Genre: General Fiction, Historical Fiction
Co-authored by her son, Harry Whittaker, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt draws the Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley’s multimillion copy sensation, to its stunning, unforgettable conclusion. Over 35 million copies of the Seven Sisters books sold worldwide 1928, Paris A boy is found, moments from death, and taken in by a kindly family. Gentle, precocious, talented, he flourishes in his new home, and the family show him a life he hadn’t dreamed possible. But he refuses to speak a word about who is really is. As he grows into a young man, falling in love and taking classes at the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris, he can almost forget the terrors of his past, or the promise he has vowed to keep. But across Europe an evil is rising, and no-one’s safety is certain. In his heart, he knows the time will come where he must flee once more. 2008, the Aegean The seven sisters are gathered together for the first time, on board the Titan to say a final goodbye to the enigmatic father they loved so dearly. To the surprise of everyone, it is the missing sister who Pa Salt has chosen to entrust with the clue to their pasts. But for every truth revealed, another question emerges. The sisters must confront the idea that their adored father was someone they barely knew. And even more shockingly: that these long-buried secrets may still have consequences for them today. Spanning a lifetime of love and loss, crossing borders and oceans, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt draws the Seven Sisters series to its stunning, unforgettable conclusion.
From the first minute onwards, I was invested in this book. The ending of The Seventh Sister left room for speculations but especially for curiosity. It gained more questions than answers and I really hoped that this book would deliver in answering them as promised. And yes, it did. But not without any twists and further revelations.
The story is told in a dual timeline narrative. We start with a prologue – which raised even more questions -, to jump to 1928 Paris. We follow Pa Salt as a little boy and throughout the story we follow the rest of his journey. In present timeline (2008) we witness the seven sisters dealing with everything they discover about their father who they thought they knew. There is not much character development et cetera, but that doesn’t matter. That’s not the aim of this book. Its aim is to reveal the mystery of Pa Salt and that succeeded.
In my opinion, I didn’t really notice that this book is mainly written by Harry Whitaker instead of Lucinda Riley. Of course I knew he has not as much writing experience as his mother, but he did the job well and surely did his mother proud. I really enjoyed my time listening to Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt. All the remaining questions are answered and the ending was interesting. This makes the book a worhty conclusion to a popular series.
Leave a Reply