We Fell Apart

Gr 10 Up–Matilda, 18, is invited to Hidden Beach to meet her famous artist father Kingsley Cello. She is instead greeted by her half-brother, Meer, also 18. Meer’s mother, who hates Matilda’s mother, does not want her there. Two other young men who live at the house also do not welcome her. But Matilda meets a girl on the ferry who knows the boys, and she joins the three of them on a visit to the Sinclair family’s island. The members of this diverse, motley group develop a kind of rapport. Back at Hidden Beach, Matilda’s father has still not appeared, and she worries there is something terribly wrong. The more she investigates, the more her own life seems to be in danger, and she doesn’t know if she can trust any of the others in the house or not. In an exciting climax, it all comes together in a way that only Lockhart could manage. Short chapters and individual vignettes mesh into a compelling whole. This third book of the Sinclair family saga can be read as a stand-alone book but does include spoilers from the first two books. A helpful family tree of the Sinclair family is included as an appendix.