When The Missing Sister came out back in 2021, I initially thought this would be the last book in the series. Since each book focused on a sister and the seventh being based on the one that went missing, it would make sense. However, checking Goodreads, like I do, I found out that there will be an eighth book. From my understanding this was in the works prior to her passing and announced not long after The Missing Sister’s release.
According to an interview for The Missing Sister (https://lucindariley.co.uk/seven-sisters-series/the-story-of-the-missing-sister/q-and-a/), Lucinda Riley initially planned for this book to be seven books long. However, she didn’t feel like The Missing Sister could tie up all of the loose ends, feeling that she wouldn’t be able to do it justice. So she started on Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt to finish the series.
And while she did pass away a few months after the release of The Missing Sister, that doesn’t mean it will go unfinished. Since she already had passages and key notes on the story in the works, her eldest son Harry Whittaker, will continue, and finish, the story. According to Goodreads, the book has an expected release of January 2023, however, her website states that it has an expected release in Spring of 2023 (https://lucindariley.co.uk/seven-sisters-series/atlas-the-story-of-pa-salt/).
With that said, I thought I would take a moment to discuss some hopes I have for this book. As well as some things I am expecting. I suppose both are interchangeable, but I do feel some topics might fit more as expectations while others fit more so as thing I hope they include.
Honoring Lucinda Riley’s Memory
With this being not only the last book in the series, but the last book by Lucinda Riley, I feel like this book could be a ceremonial way to say farewell to the author. Whether that be in the form of an “in memory of” section” or some form of tribute to the author in the acknowledgements or notes at the end, I think there should be some form of way that the author is remembered. I’m sure there will be, and that’s not to say that Harry Whittaker shouldn’t get credit for his part, just that this book could be a way to honor Lucinda Riley’s memory.
Exploring Pa Salt’s Character
This is titles Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt, so it’s pretty much a given that it will be about Pa Salt. He had a presence throughout the series, but readers never really got to know the character on a personal level. Only how each sister remembers him.
My hope is that this book will give some closure with Pa Salt as a character. Since his character has been dead since the very beginning, I would hope that this goes over who he was as a person, exploring why he adopted each sister, and the lead up to his passing. Let his story be told in a way that works with the story and wraps it up with the sisters learning more about their father.
The Past and Present Storytelling
This might sound odd, but I would hope that it keeps up the tradition of it being told in the present as well as the past. Not only because the series is known for it, but because I feel that it has to. Again, with Pa Salt being deceased, readers won’t exactly be able to get a first hand account of the character. Rather, the sisters learning more about the man who brought them all together. That would be the present bit.
As for the past portion, it would focus on Pa Salt’s life. Here, readers would get to learn about who he was as a person, where he came from, how he became the man he was, and how he found each sister. And much like the other stories, it should go through a big part of his life. It can start with him as a child or young adult (preferably the latter) and go all the way up to his death.
As far as perspective, I could see this taking a slightly different approach. Normally, each book would be told in the first person for each sister and third for the person from the past. I believe The Missing Sister was the only book that told it from the third person perspective for both. Here, I can see it using solely the third person for both perspectives since it would be his story and D’Aplièse getting answers and learning more about Pa Salt. Alternatively, it could be written from third person for the present part and the first person for Pa Salt’s. That would be a nice change of pace while also utilizing something that the series was known for. There is also the chance that the present could shift a first person perspective for each sister, but I feel like that would be unnecessary and could get confusing.
Ending the Series on a High Note
Since this will be the conclusion to the series, I feel like it should end on something of a high note. That would include wrapping up the loose ends it didn’t get to in The Missing Sister, ending with each sister having learned something, show where each sister ends up, and ending the series on a good conclusive note. While I’m not expecting perfection, I do think that it should resolve what it needs to and feels gratifying. Not rushed. Nor do I think it should end on a happily ever after. It would be nice to see it ending on a happier note, but I’m not looking for a happily ever after necessarily. If one or more of the sisters feel like they have to reevaluate their life or how they viewed Pa Salt, that’s okay. But at the same time, they did get a sort of happily ever after at the end of each of their story, and I don’t think that has to be tossed.
Conclusion
These are just a few things I hope for when Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt is released. If you’ve read the series, what are your expectations for it? Is there anything you hope gets addressed? Are you excited for it?
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