The Last Anniversary

Sophie is the novel’s protagonist, a 39-year-old single woman living in Sydney. In many ways, she is a typical idealized, aspirational heroine for a feel-good mystery romance novel. Sophie is a social butterfly who is well-loved. She grew up privileged and is very aware of this. She suffers from chronic blushing and enjoys baking, reality shows, and Regency romances. She is an only child who is very close with her parents; on the third Thursday of every month, she explores a new restaurant with her parents. She frequents spas and nail salons with her mom, and her relationship with her parents inspires envy in many of her friends.

Sophie is the only single friend in a group of wives and moms, and her friends are both envious of her glamorous single life and constantly offering advice about how she should get married. The main tension or dilemma for her character is her wish to have children, combined with her wish (or sense of social expectation) that she should find a life partner. This conflict is at the heart of Sophie’s apparent decision between the available men on the island and the temptation she feels toward Callum.