Review: The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

About the Book:

Piper Parrish’s life on Frick Island–a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay–is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her beloved husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom’s crab boat capsized and his body wasn’t recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her, cooking him breakfast, walking him to the docks each morning, meeting him for their standard Friday night dinner date at the One-Eyed Crab. And what were the townspeople to do but go along with their beloved widowed Piper?

Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. A young ambitious journalist, he’d rather hoped he’d be a national award-winning podcaster by now, rather than writing fluff pieces for a small town newspaper. But when he gets an assignment to travel to the remote Frick Island and cover their boring annual Cake Walk fundraiser, he stumbles upon a much more fascinating tale: an entire town pretending to see and interact with a man who does not actually exist. Determined it’s the career-making story he’s been needing for his podcast, Anders returns to the island to begin covert research and spend more time with the enigmatic Piper–but he has no idea out of all the lives he’s about to upend, it’s his that will change the most.

Sometimes all you need is one person to really see you...

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-invisible-husband-of-frick-island-by-colleen-oakley

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55760893-the-invisible-husband-of-frick-island

My Thoughts:

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island clicked a lot of boxes for me: great, small town community, quirky yet lovable characters, a little mystery and a little romance. The cover and title intrigued me, and the fantastic story between the covers hooked me!

The story is told in a third person narrative; at first, I wasn’t sure that I cared for that, but it really worked. It was a good way for author Colleen Oakley to hint at several mysterious story threads without giving away too much information. I loved all the characters. Piper Parrish comes off as an adult Pollyanna (in a delightful, lovable way). Anders Caldwell seems every bit the nerd, and I couldn’t help but hope for his success. The primary islanders don’t feel like secondary characters because the enrich the plot so much. Lady Jane’s mysterious packages, Mrs. Olecki’s unfinished sentences, and Captain BobDan’s disgruntled mistrust of “Come Heres” are examples of what made me want more of these characters.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island is much more than the light, fluffy read I was expecting. There’s some mystery and romance, but it is more a story about community, family and love. The inhabitants of Frick Island truly love and care for one another. It is their sense of community and love that really made this book shine for me. In addition to getting a flavor for the life of fishermen and their families was interesting. Ms. Oakley’s first-hand experience on real-life Smith Island shown through her depiction of the fragility of island life. From turtle hatchlings to crab hauls to rising sea levels and diminishing tourism, life on a tiny island is beautifully described.

Ms. Oakley’s The Invisible Husband of Frick Island is a heartwarming story that incorporates respectful messages about mental health and ecology. I couldn’t put down the book once I started!

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About the Author: Colleen Oakley is the USA Today bestselling author of You Were There Too, Close Enough to Touch and Before I Go. Her books have been named best books by People, Us Weekly, Library Journal and Real Simple, and have been long-listed for the Southern Book Prize. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, four kids and the world’s biggest lapdog.