The Reef

By: Di Morrissey

Narrated by: Kate Hood

On a small coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef two communities come together in an uneasy alliance: a tourist resort and a scientific research station. At first glance, the island is a sexy resort, a naturalist's dream, a diver's delight. But the island holds secrets and dangers as Jennifer Towse soon discovers. When world-famous Isobel Belitas arrives, Jennifer learns to see the world - above and below the sea - very differently. Isobel also teaches her to come to terms with her obsessive mother, as well as her disintegrating marriage. But no one, not even investigative journalist Tony Adams, could have prepared Jennifer for the stunning revelations of what is really happening on this island paradise...

©2003 Lady Byron Pty Ltd, 2004 (P)2005 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"Di Morrissey writes with a sense of social, or in this case environmental, conscience." (The Age)

"Full of the sights, sounds and smells of tropical north Queensland … the story plunges forward with all the impetus of a wave crashing on the beach, and the reader is carried – joyfully – along with it." (Travelscene International)

Yawnfully predictable storyline

What a predictable and shallow story. Only I had paid for it so I was determined to hear it out.

If only the narrator hadn't given the heroine a breathy little girl voice, I may have accepted her total lack of personality. We don't really understand 'why' Jennifer does what she does. Her husband to be is not nice from the start and her mother is a plain bitch but good old Jen just goes along with them both until her life crumbles in the most predictable way. There is just something missing from the description of Jennifer's reaction to those around her. I didn't understand why she never expressed doubt or disapproval - I didn't hear her thinking - I didn't ever get to feel warmly towards her. This seems to be a weak vehicle for the author to write about the Barrier Reef and conservation. Both great topics but a painful way to learn about them. My first and sadly last Di M.