Evie Shine is adrift. After two decades of marriage, her husband has left her. Possibly for another woman. He isn’t saying. That Evie has spent her career dissecting relationships and mending broken hearts doesn’t help at all – it just makes everything worse. How did she not see this coming? And what’s she meant to do now?
Her own worst client, Evie ignores all useful advice and chooses platitudes, wine and hangovers over the prospect of moving on. But soon she realises that the beauty of having the rug ripped from under you is getting to see exactly what’s underneath.
So Many Beats of the Heart is about how the crushing weight of time can take its toll on long-term relationships. It’s about love lost, friendships found, losing your bearings and finding a way back to shore.
After a very hectic few weeks, I had a weekend to myself, and this was the book I curled up with. And it was perfect. What an absolute treat. Escapism, while being totally relatable. Evie is so many women I know, in their forties and beyond, who find themselves adrift after a marriage breakdown. What brings added wisdom to this novel is the fact that Evie is a marriage counsellor who is good at dissecting other people’s issues but is finding it difficult to address her own. To be fair, she has a lot going on. Her husband leaves her just after they’ve relocated across the country, so she’s not only single but also without the support she’d normally have. This really is a new life – and what a warm, witty, wonderful read it is as she traverses it.
Carrie Cox is a journalist and her 2018 novel Afternoons with Harvey Beam was hailed as a ‘brilliant debut’ by The Australian Women’s Weekly. Her experience shines here. Polished prose, compelling characters, sensitive family dynamics combined with genuinely funny dialogue makes this unputdownable. If you’re looking for a great weekend read, look no further. It’s an excellent addition to the now popular older woman genre, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Cox delivers next.
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