I was not aware when I requested and downloaded this that it was the third in a trilogy. I felt a little late to the party so ended up getting stuck and then giving up towards the end. It's a very gritty and atmospheric tale but I still did not really connect to the characters. Perhaps it would have been different however if I had known more about the background of the story. It's an interesting account of how a death can affect a whole community and a remote one at that. I will look out for more books by Donna Morrissey but think that this one was difficult to judge fairly given the circumstances.

Absolutely superb! An enthralling joy to read. This book takes you on a real journey, & one I am privileged that the author chose to share.

So I’m pretty terrible at writing reviews for literary fiction novels because I’m not particularly eloquent and I feel like you need to be for these books! So please excuse the lack of detail in the following review…

I picked this novel up not really sure what to expect from it. I suppose I imagined a slow-moving murder-mystery with a strong focus on the characters. And guess what? This is a mystery literary fiction, so that’s exactly what I got!

This was a slow going novel, and there is never really a point (until maybe right at the end) where the pace picks up, so you slowly plod along through the story. As to be expected really, when the story is based in a run-down, slightly behind the time’s little village. However, after around 20 minutes of reading, I already found myself immersed in the story and its characters.

Before going into this book, I hadn’t realised it was the end of a trilogy. It doesn’t say anywhere on the actual book that it’s part of a series, and honestly, it read perfectly fine as a standalone novel. I think one of the things that could be benefitted from starting this series from book 1 is that connection and background information you get about some of the characters.

As with most literary fiction, this is a stunningly beautifully written book, with picturesque descriptions and in-depth, realistic characters. Kyle and his family in this novel are brutally honest portrayals of people living in small, reasonably poor towns and their family relationship was beautifully real.

In terms of the story, this was nothing revolutionary but it was interesting to watch the events unfold and see how everyone’s stories came together to conclude the murder of a villager. I can’t say the reveal of the murderer was particularly clever or surprising, but I felt the why was far more interesting.

Overall I really enjoyed this read. Although it was emotional (I cried at the end) and quite poignant, as it touches on some difficult subjects, it was still an easy book to read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Canongate Books for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This bleak and atmospheric novel about a murder in a small Newfoundland coastal town is both haunting and deeply compelling. Although no one regrets the victim, who was a nasty piece of work, suspicion falls on one person after another, and as it does so secrets, evasions and deceptions are gradually uncovered and brought out into the open. In a sense the solving of the murder mystery, although gripping, was secondary for me to the characterisation, the relationships and the interaction between the characters, which together with the authentic dialogue and use of the vernacular made the novel an absorbing and engaging read.

Fantastic, intriguing story.
I found it a bit difficult to get into but it was well worth the effort.

This was quite different to what I expected, it had more of a slow build up and was more character driven.It did have a murder but wasn't a thriller, and was more about a small fishing village and the people living there .It was well written and captured the feel of the place or how I imagine it might be, it was quite a dark atmosphere not a place I would like to go and visit I don't think. Having said that I thought it was well described and realistic.For me it was possibly a little slow paced,but I am impatient ,there was nothing wrong with it and I have to give it 4 stars.Thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The best word I can think of to describe this book is understated. Although it deals with a murder, the death is very secondary to the interactions between the Now family and their fellow town members in Newfoundland. The brother of the title is Kyle, the youngest of the Now family who is trying to deal with the loss of his brother in an accident, his father's increasing reliance on alcohol and the illness of his mother. The writing is full of what I can only assume are Newfoundland dialect, which can take a little getting used to and I found the pace of the novel a little slow. The island is a fascinating place in its bleakness, but for me, I just found the book pretty hard to get through. I honestly cannot pinpoint what specifically I struggled with, but I just didn't connect with the characters emotionally, which in this kind of novel, is pretty important.

An atmospheric and intriguing murder mystery

Kyle Now and his parents are recovering from the tragic death of his brother Chris in an oil rig accident. Kyle copes with his suffering by shutting himself off from those around him and venturing into the woods alone. His father, Sylvanus, deals with his pain by drinking excessively and his mother, Addie, who has tried desperately to keep the family together, is now facing breast cancer. One night, the body of a local man is found floating in a pool of water left by the tide. The victim, Clar Gillard, had clashed recently with all members of the Now family and, due to them both having been on an alcohol binge on the night of the murder, neither Kyle nor his father has any memory of what happened. As news of the killing quickly spreads through the small coastal town in Newfoundland, Canada, suspicion falls on the Now family and Kyle struggles to piece together what might have occurred to lead to Gillard’s death whilst simultaneously trying to deal with the unresolved tensions and conflict simmering between himself and his parents.

This was an exceptionally well-written book. The author perfectly captures both the dreary, grey atmosphere of a small coastal fishing town and also the feelings of suffering, guilt and pain that the Now family experience in their various different ways following the death of Chris. Kyle, the ‘fortunate brother’, is a realistic and sympathetic character and the way he isolates himself from his family and friends to cope with his pain and anger at losing his brother was extremely believable and well-expressed in the writing. The other characters, particularly Sylvanus and Addie, were also extremely realistic and their varying ways of coping with their grief were well-observed and made for poignant reading.

After the first few chapters, the story flows effortlessly from a moving portrayal of family grief to a complex and enthralling murder mystery. I particularly enjoyed the way that the night of the murder was written – the confusion and disjointedness of Kyle’s alcohol-fuelled binge peppered with blackouts and inconsistencies created a genuine mystery as to what exactly happened to the characters in that time, and as more evidence was revealed to Kyle and the readers as the story went on, I found myself second-guessing who could be the killer multiple times. All the locations in the story were well described and created a dark and sombre mood that matched up perfectly with the Now family’s feelings of hopelessness and despair. Despite this, the central theme of the story seems to be hope and, regardless of the bleakness of the location and the suffering that the characters experience, this is in a strange way quite an uplifting story with an ending that, although not entirely unexpected, didn’t feel contrived or predictable and tied up all the loose ends in a satisfying way.

Despite being the third book in a trilogy focussing on the Now family, I didn’t have any trouble following the plot or understanding the complex and multi-layered relationships between the characters, although I may have felt more connected to some of those in the background of the story had I read the previous two instalments. I also found that, at times, the way the Newfoundland dialect was written was a little hard to follow but at the same time this made the conversation between the characters more genuine. Mostly the writing flowed well and the descriptions of the landscape and inhabitants were excellent.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and extremely atmospheric story. I feel that people would benefit from having read the previous instalments beforehand, but The Fortunate Brother still works as a standalone novel and was both an emotionally moving family story and an intricate murder mystery.

Daenerys

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I did not realise when I started reading this book that it is the third book in the trilogy

The story is about the Now family who are mourning the death of their son Chris who died while working on an Alberto Oil Rig. Sylvanus (the father) has turned ti alcohol, Abbie (the mother) is facing breast cancer and Kyle (the son) relationship with his sister Sylvie is strained. Then the local bully is murdered and suspicion is on the Now family.

This book is mixed with suspense, emotion, loyalty and tragedy. It has also covered love, guilt grief and the families bond. I wish I had read the first two books before this one but I do this this can be read as a standalone.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Canongate Books and the author Donna Morrissey for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This a bleak, atmospheric and moving family saga and murder mystery. Set amongst a small coastal community in Newfoundland, Canada, at the heart of the story is the Now family. It is the first book of the trilogy that I read and I did feel my experience would have been significantly enhanced had I read the preceding two books. It is a character driven story that dwells on loss, grief, guilt and the struggles to keep the family together in the face of tragedies and turmoil.

The Now family have suffered a devastating knockback with the death of their eldest son, Chris, who dies on a oil rig in Alberta. The central focus is on Kyle Now, the youngest family member, otherwise known as the 'fortunate' brother simply because he is alive. There is isolation, silence, guilt and conflict within the family. Sylvanus, the father, hits the bottle to subsume his grief, the guilt ridden Sylvie leaves and the one person that epitomises hope, the mother, Addie, has to contend with further trials and tribulations. Kyle tries do his best to look after and protect the family but he is barely holding it together. To exacerbate matters, an abusive and bullying local man is murdered and his blood is discovered on the family pier. There are secrets and lies told in this beautifully written story as we learn what lies behind the murder. Hanging over the entire novel is the ghost of Chris.

This is a compelling read by an author with a real talent for writing. She captures the harsh life and landscape of the location well along with an air of claustrophobia. She is particularly successful in her characterisations, with the emotional depth and fraught emotions in a family that is grieving and suffering deep schisms. I just wish I had read her other books first. Many thanks to Canongate for an ARC.

this is clearly a well thought out and psychologically astute piece of writing - the loss of a brother/son early on has triggered family issues big time in this group - and the secret past intruding plays its role too in effective ways for the plot and characters - but perhaps it's the dialect they all talk in - colourful no doubt - but it adds an extra layer of striving for me that bumped into my engagement. others might really find this dazzling - and I want to commend the skillful writing without hesitation - but it just did not drag me in. My loss ..