I did like this a bit but there was just a little something it was missing. I liked how it built the historical setting and the location really well but the action just felt a tiny bit flat at times. The characters were okay but they needed work as they were not as 3d as they should have been. This was good but it just wasn't exactly for me.

Set on the Norfolk coast in the early 1950s The Night of the Flood is an atmospheric and at times claustrophobic historical story. Centred around a historic natural disaster, the author interweaves a believable fiction of complex emotional relationships and secrets.

It focuses on the five young adults all inexorably changed by WW2 and railing against their allotted roles in life. Peter, shackled to the failing family farm. Verity, an ambitious woman who wants more from life than marriage and domesticity. Arthur, a former evacuee who has journalistic ambitions he may never realise. Muriel is a less distinct character known to all whose role increases with the story's progression. Finally, there is Jack, an American stationed at the local airbase, who is the catalyst that forever alters the young lives.

The story is sad and suspenseful, the protagonists'victims of society's expectations and individual flaws. The coastal historical setting reinforces the story's authenticity. Relatable characters engage the reader's emotions in this insightful story.

I received a copy of this book from Head of Zeus in return for an honest review.

An atmospheric and fascinating historical thriller, I found it gripping and entertaining.
The descriptions of the flood are very realistic and I liked the fleshed out characters and the plot that kept me hooked.
The author has a lot of potential and I look forward to reading her next book.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

In 1952, Verity is living on her family’s farm in Norfolk. She is struggling to move on after the death of her mother and is feeling the pressure to continue a relationship with her childhood friend Arthur. With so much uncertainty surrounding her future, when Verity meets Jack (a pilot working at an American airbase nearby), she gets swept up in the idea of a new life with him. 

However, Verity is forced to hide their relationship, knowing that neither Arthur, her father or her brother would approve. As the succession of secrets and lies begin to escalate, Verity is left wondering if Jack really is who he says he is or if he is holding back something sinister from his past. Then, during the storm and the resulting floods the following winter, a shocking event takes place that will change their lives forever.

I love reading historical thrillers and I have read a lot of books set during WW1 and WW2 but this is the first book I have read set during the Cold War period. The crime and thriller elements were not as forthright as I was expecting. It’s more of a slow-paced story, layering up the different experiences of the characters until the major event which takes place on the night of the flood. But, I thought that the setting and characterisation was brilliant, the story really transported me to the 1950s and I got a real sense of the political and personal tension throughout the book.

A great choice for any historical fiction fans and an impressive debut novel from Zoe Somerville.

Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the opportunity to read and review.

Very atmospheric. Historical novel set against the floods in East Anglia in the fifties, this book follows a young women as she studies at a remote location. She's torn between her childhood friend and a suave american pilot. The storm provides the backdrop for an intriguing story.

Very atmospheric! I enjoyed the historical setting, even though it's not a time period I read about frequently. I enjoyed Verity, I thought she was a likeable main character and a truly interesting person to follow through the story. The opening scene was very shocking and set a tone for the mystery that would appear later on in the book. A great read - would recommend!

This book is very evocative of the time period of the book. A glimpse of a bygone era story of the tangled love life of Verity. The description of the flood is truly terrifying and I felt as if I was right there in the swirling waters.

‘The Night of the Flood’ is Zoe Somerville’s first novel.  Set in North Norfolk during the floods of January 1953 during which many of the coastal towns and villages suffered tremendous damage and because of which a hundred deaths were recorded, Somerville’s re-telling of the night does justice to the panic and confusion suffered by the inhabitants of Wells-next-the-Sea.  Whilst the novel’s title suggests that this is the main focus, most of the narrative covers the time before and after the natural catastrophe.
Peter and Verity are young adults struggling to find their place in a post-war world.  From a farming family, they have little parental guidance to rely on.  Their father is increasingly ‘in his cups’ whilst their mother drowned a couple of years earlier.  Verity’s secret is her embryonic relationship with former evacuee and childhood friend, Arthur, whilst Peter is mesmerised by American pilot, Jack, based at nearby Holkham.  However, Arthur looks on Jack as a rival for Verity.  An aspiring journalist and very interested in exploring the nuclear threat, he convinces himself that Jack is involved in the secret testing of these weapons.  Throughout the novel in whatever permutation, it’s a case of two’s company and three’s a crowd.
Whilst the story of the flood and the depiction of North Norfolk will definitely hook readers who have roots in or have grown to love this area of the country, it is debatable whether or not the characters or plot will fully convince.  At times, Somerville’s writing style feels unnecessarily amplified and I found it difficult to believe in the three central characters.  Local girl Muriel, playing a minor part, feels more authentic.  In a post war time of turmoil and uncertainty, there is much of universal interest that could have been explored further through the personal.  Perhaps we’ll see this development in her second novel.
My thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.