Island Swimmer

'As the plane began its descent, the sun broke through and the islands of Orkney stretched out below, glinting like fat mermaids covered in emeralds. The sea had turned turquoise and lapped onto bone-white beaches merging into impossibly vivid green fields. Evie had forgotten just how beautiful it was here. There was nowhere like it in the world. That's why it was so hard to stay away for so long. Evie knew old wounds would be opened, but she couldn't run away from her past anymore.'

In Orkney, Evie arrives on the spring tide to the wild landscape she left as a teenager, the one to which she swore she'd never return. She is estranged from her sister Liv, who remained on the island, their lives scattered after a childhood trauma. As she clears out her father's home to prepare it for sale, isolated Evie finds herself drawn to a group of cold-water swimmers who find calmness beneath the icy waves, despite the stormy weather. Together they help Evie face the mistakes of her past, unlocking a treasure trove of truths that will reverberate throughout the tight-knit community and shake her family to its core. Inspired by her deep love for the Orkney Islands and its people, with echoes of Maeve Binchy, The Island Swimmer is the captivating debut novel from presenter, journalist and author Lorraine Kelly.