The Cuckoo’s Call by Lily Morton

Narrated by Joel Leslie

In the prologue to The Cuckoo’s Call, we find Wren Roberts in the airport in Venice waiting for the fog to clear so his flight to England can leave. Even though he’s impatient to depart, he’s obviously feeling dejected at the same time. The author then takes us back in time to tell listeners just how and why Wren has come to be there. It’s a bold way to start the book, giving away a fair bit of information up front, but it works well here.

When, a few months/weeks earlier, Wren decided to reconnect with his childhood best friend Owen, he hadn’t expected they would be joined in Majorca by the very rich, very snooty friends Owen made at university. After a couple of weeks not only has Wren not been able to spend quality time with Owen, but going to only the best clubs and restaurants with Owen and his friends has further depleted Wren’s already stretched resources. When Owen and his friends move their partying to a different hot spot, Wren, who is almost out of money, remains in Majorca and decides to head home a couple of weeks early.

Matteo Rossi is taking his yearly vacation from Venice, where he now lives and works, in Majorca, where he grew up. As a member of the wealthy and well-known family who owns and runs a chain of luxury hotels, Matteo is hoping to combine a little work with pleasure. He wants to test the service and quality of his family’s hotels in Majorca while there, but has a difficult time not being recognized and given VIP treatment. A chance meeting with Wren at one of Matteo’s hotels gives him the idea to ask Wren to help, and to get Wren’s unbiased opinions about the hotels. Matteo offers to pay Wren a handsome fee for his help, and as a bonus he’ll show Wren all his favorite spots on the island. The two men are attracted to each other, but Matteo knows he’s not suitable for the “lovely boy” who is fifteen years his junior, and vows to keep it professional. But as they spend time working, driving around the island, laughing and enjoying each other’s company, they can’t resist the pull. This is perhaps my favorite part of the book. I loved seeing them get to know each other and the little ways Matteo tries to take care of Wren. I admit, I thought some of the story was unrealistic, like them going incognito to some of Matteo’s hotels, but it was fun, nonetheless. When it comes time for Wren to return home and Matteo to return to Venice, Matteo makes an out of character snap decision and persuades Wren to come to Venice and see the sights as Matteo’s guest for a month.

The tone of the story changes along with the scenery as Matteo returns to the serious businessman he is in Venice, and Matteo’s family give Wren a less than warm welcome. This part of the book is more serious, as Wren tries to figure out the best way to handle not only the hostile family, but also the changes in Matteo. When I read this book in print, I thought Wren was a little too perfect, but as I listened to the audiobook, I became more aware of Wren’s misjudgments as well. Wren’s childhood in foster care has given him some unrealistic views about families, and that influences how he decides to handle not only the family issues, but his feelings for Matteo. The story feels a little predictable and Wren just a bit too wise, but the emotions still pulled at my heart.

Right before I picked up The Cuckoo’s Call, I listened to ‘American’ Joel Leslie narrate a book set in the US, so when I started this book I was momentarily thrown by Joel’s English accent. But I’ve listened to ‘English’ Joel many times and it quickly felt familiar and right. At first, there is Wren and his English fellow travelers, but after Matteo arrives on the scene many of the characters, and therefore accents, are Italian. Joel’s voices and accents sound quite good to me, although I honestly can’t say how accurate the Italian accents are since my exposure is mainly from TV and movies. Each character has a distinct voice and Joel keeps the voices consistent throughout. Wren has a lighter, softer voice, while Matteo’s sounds older and a little growly. His female voices are well done and varied. As usual, Joel Leslie delivers a marvelous narration both in his character voices and his ability to convey the appropriate emotions.

The tropes here aren’t original: a lighthearted young man shows his older, jaded lover how to enjoy life again. But Majorca and Venice are both beautifully described and the story has enough emotional pull to keep it from being just fluff. As always, Joel’s narration adds depth to the characters and the story.

Carrie