Ingo, by Helen Dunmore

Reviewed by Julie Falkner

An ugly slash disfigures the dark wood of the mermaid statue. Was she attacked because she stole the heart of a local man, who one day swam away with her? But all that happened hundreds of years ago...

Sapphire and her brother Conor love living by the sea in Cornwall. Then one night their fisherman father takes the boat out and doesn't come back. It's said that he drowned, but how could someone with a lifetime of experience lose his life to a calm sea? Sapphire and Conor are determined to find him, no matter how long it takes.

Then, on the rocks near the cove, Sapphire meets Faro, not a "mermaid" but indeed one of the Mer people. He entices Sapphire to leave her Air thinking behind and travel with him through the surface of the water and on to Ingo, the realm of the Mer. With Faro's help, Sapphire learns about the thrill of catching a vigorous current, the gentle relaxation of sunbathing below the surface, and the amazing diversity of life in the sea.

When Sapphire returns to her everyday life in the Air and the search for her father, she finds that the alluring call of Ingo is never far away. But is Ingo becoming too powerful? What will happen if it breaks its bounds? And does Faro really care about what happens to Sapphire?

Helen Dunmore has vividly imagined the delights of an underwater life. The ocean seems to be calling your name as you read of surfing the currents and learning how to speak to dolphins, and you can empathize with Sapphire's struggle to resist its call. The story builds to a gripping climax of confrontation between the Mer people and Sapphire's friend Roger, a diver. And the conclusion of this enchanting novel is sufficiently open-ended to leave you longing for the second instalment in this planned trilogy.

Buy Ingo at Amazon.ca:
Ingo, by Helen Dunmore

Buy Ingo at Amazon.co.uk:
Ingo, by Helen Dunmore