I so loved Fifty Words for Snow (reviewed here) that I couldn’t resist accepting Nancy Campbell’s latest book, Nature Tales for Winter Nights when it came out in hardback. Now, with the paperback release imminent, I have finally got round to reading it. My huge thanks to Amy Greaves at Elliott and Thompson for sending me a copy.

Published by Elliott & Thompson in paperback on 3rd October 2024, Nature Tales for Winter Nights is available for purchase here.

Nature Tales for Winter Nights

A treasure trove of nature tales from storytellers across the globe, bringing a little magic and wonder to every winter night.

As the evenings draw in – a time of reckoning, rest and restoration – immerse yourself in this new seasonal anthology. Nature Tales for Winter Nights puts winter – rural, wild and urban – under the microscope and reveals its wonder.

From the late days of autumn, through deepest cold, and towards the bright hope of spring, here is a collection of familiar names and dazzling new discoveries.

Join the naturalist Linnæus travelling on horseback in Lapland, witness frost fairs on the Thames and witch-hazel harvesting in Connecticut, experience Alpine adventure, polar bird myths and courtship in the snow in classical Japan and ancient Rome. Observations from Beth Chatto’s garden and Tove Jansson’s childhood join company with artists’ private letters, lines from Anne Frank’s diary and fireside stories told by indigenous voices.

A hibernation companion, this book will transport you across time and country this winter.

My Review of Nature Tales for Winter Nights

A cornucopia of seasonal writing.

What a wonderful book. Nature Tales for Winter Nights might be a relatively slim volume, but it is filled with evocative, interesting and entertaining writing from diary extracts, through letters and factual pieces to poetry and prose. There are well known writers, like Charlotte Bronte or Shakespeare, new, modern writers like the editor Nancy Campbell and others I’d never heard of such as Marchelle Farrell (whose Yuletide might just be my favourite entry in the main body of the book), with surprising entries from the likes of Vincent van Gogh, so that this is a book that appeals to a wide readership and enables readers to dip in and out and always find an entry to suit their taste or mood. Charles Darwin’s dated entries are ostensibly dry and prosaic and yet they have a morose undertone that, perversely, made me smile.

Accompanying the varied and engaging entries in Nature Tales for Winter Nights are beautiful illustrations that act as an extra surprise when a page is turned. With biographies of those whose writing is included at the end, Nature Tales for Winter Nights also acts as a catalyst for further investigation and reading. I also think this would be a superb volume to use in a creative writing group as a stimulus for other writing.

For those reading the book, I’d urge them to include Nancy Campbell’s Introduction. So often a book’s introuction is missed out in reading, but here it is beautiful, poetic, filmic and emotional so that to miss the introduction is to miss wonderful writing and – without exaggeration – to deny yourself a feeling of hope that I not only adored, but very much needed.

And I loved the fact that Nature Tales for Winter Nights isn’t dedicated to any individual in the hope it will be passed on and shared with those people important to the reader. That said, I also loved that those who provide shelter in a storm are particularly acknowledged. In a world where so many are persecuted and find their winters without shelter, this is the most important sentiment. Indeed, Nature Tales for Winter Nights is a perfect gift for every one of us. It’s a superb book and could be just what you need to get through the coming seasons.

About Nancy Campbell

Nancy Campbell is an award-winning writer, described as ‘deft, dangerous and dazzling’ by the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Her travels in the Arctic between 2010 and 2017 have resulted in several projects responding to the environment, most recently The Library of Ice: Readings in a Cold Climate, which was longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2019. Her previous book on the polar environment, Disko Bay, was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection in 2016. She has been a Marie Claire ‘Wonder Woman’, a Hawthornden Fellow and Visual and Performing Artist in Residence at Oxford University. She is currently a Literature Fellow at Internationales Kunstlerhaus Villa Concordia in Bamberg, Germany.

For more information, visit Nancy’s website. You’ll also find her on Instagram.

It’s my absolute pleasure to help reveal the brand new book from Lizzy Barber, Be Mine. I love being in at the start of a book’s journey anyway, but I so enjoyed Lizzy’s Nanny Wanted, reviewed here, that I’m very excited for Be Mine.

Lizzy also stayed in with me here on Linda’s Book Bag to celebrate her novel, Out of Her Depth.

Be Mine will be released by Datura Books on 13th May 2025 and is available for pre-order here.

Be Mine

Beth is a new mother struggling to find her place in the world. She is exhausted, mentally and physically, but her anxieties are not simply the fears of a first-time mum. A terror burns in her, fuelled by a secret past she is lucky to have escaped. When a letter arrives, bearing only the infinity symbol, Beth knows immediately it is from them. And that her past is finally catching up with her…

Ten years earlier, on the heels of a messy breakup, Beth meets the effervescent Marissa who introduces her to “Elixir” – a health and wellness organisation that she promises will change Beth’s life forever. She quickly becomes intoxicated and convinced it is the solution to all her problems. No task is too great, even as the gruelling exercise classes become more frequent, even as the therapy sessions become more costly, even as their ‘requests’ become ‘demands,’ Beth convinces herself this is what she wants.

Then, when she falls for the brand’s enigmatic leader, Tate, she can’t imagine life without Elixir. But as Beth’s star begins to rise, Marissa’s starts to fall. And though Marissa tries to warn her of the darkness lurking beneath the brand’s gleaming exterior, Beth finds she cannot let go.

Be Mine is a story about identity: finding our place in the world today, and where we turn to belong in a godless modern society.

****

I think Be Mine not only sounds an exciting thriller, but intriguing one too. I can’t wait to add Be Mine to my TBR.

Don’t forget to pre-order Be Mine here!

About Lizzy Barber

I’m not entirely certain how a surprise copy of CrimeBits: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles selected by Lee Child ended up in my post box. I suspect it might be the smashing Luca Veste, author of CrimeBits‘s Afterward who sent it, but I’m delighted to have received it and to share my review today.

Published by the Black Spring Press Group in hardback on 27th August 2024, CrimeBits will be released in paperback on 1st October and you can pre-order it here.

CrimeBits: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles

CrimeBits is a unique, interactive puzzle book including 100 first pages of thrillers, the best selected by the world-famous crime author Lee Child. Each page is linked to a puzzle, ranging from crosswords, to wordsearches, to mystery logic puzzles created by L.A. Times puzzle setter Robin Stears. Read an exclusive introduction by Lee Child himself on crime writing and the importance of a novel’s opening. This grab-bag of a book also includes writing challenges, crime trivia, and editor’s notes.

CrimeBits 2 is set to be selected and introduced by the best-selling Tartan Noir author Val McDermid.

My Review of CrimeBits: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles

A selection of interactive puzzles and writing prompts.

Well this is a cracker of a book. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for someone who has everything, CrimeBits is just what you’re looking for. It’s innovative, engaging and very inspiring, particularly to aspiring crime fiction writers. It would be absolutely perfect for those who love crime fiction and have a long daily commute who could lose themselves between its pages and those who love puzzling would find it thoroughly engaging.

Crimebits is packed with all manner of fabulous story openings, facts and interactivity. I still haven’t finished all the puzzles as it took me several days to embrace the concept of the book. This is because CrimeBits is designed for readers to become a part of the book itself, carrying on writing from story prompts, completing various puzzles or awarding marks to the creative writing between its pages, for example. This was a real problem for me. I thought it was all so good that I couldn’t bear to sully the book by writing in it! I’ve really had to steel myself to complete crosswords and wordsearches which I’ve done as lightly as possible in pencil so I don’t spoil my copy and my efforts can be rubbed out, returning the book to its pristine state. With the writing spaces for Have Your Say: What Happens Next I’ve used a notebook rather than write in my copy. I’m aware this is bonkers because the whole premise of the book is that it is to be used, to be interactive and to involve the reader. There are even QR codes that take readers to extra material on the publisher website. It really is an immersive and entertaining book. I also thoroughly appreciate the fact that puzzle solutions are available at the end of CrimeBits as I’m particularly useless at logic!

The greatest pleasure in CrimeBits for me came from the 100 crime fiction openings contained in the book. They are a veritable smorgasbord of delight, my favourite being Secret Bones by Laurel Nicholson. Every aspect of crime writing is represented so that there really is something for every reader here. Their length also caters for the increasingly limited attention span many of us have as illustrated by Lee Child in his Introduction.

That Introduction is incredibly interesting. As might be expected, both readers and writers learn from Lee Child about the craft of writing – especially about hooking in a reader from the first page, but equally interesting is the insight into Lee Child as a man as well as a writer. His warm diffidence and enthusiasm leap from the page.

Similarly, the Afterword by Luca Veste is a mini-masterclass in crime fiction writing. His honesty about his own writing illustrates to perfection the way writers need to hook readers in crime fiction and his passion for the genre shines through. It made me hungry to read every book he’s written – including Dead Gone which he wishes he’d opened differently.

I loved CrimeBits because it is clever, entertaining and absorbing. But be warned, if you’re like me, you’re going to need several copies of CrimeBits: some to give as gifts, one for yourself to write in and one to keep in perfect condition on your bookshelf! I think it’s excellent.

About Lee Child

Photograph courtesy of Sigrid Estrada

Lee Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in New York. It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. His books consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over one hundred million copies. Two blockbusting Jack Reacher movies have been made so far. He is the recipient of many awards, most recently Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

For further information, follow Lee Child On Twitter/X @LeeChildReacher, find him on Instagram or visit his Facebook page and website.

About Luca Veste

Luca Veste is a writer of Italian and Liverpudlian heritage, married with two young daughters, and one of nine children. He studied psychology and criminology at university in Liverpool. He is the author of the Murphy and Rossi series, which includes Dead Gone, The Dying Place, Bloodstream, and Then She Was Gone.

Part psychological thriller, part police procedural, his books follow the detective pairing of DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi. The novels are set in Liverpool, bringing the city to life in a dark and terrifying manner…with just a splash of Scouse humour.

For further information, visit Luca Veste’s website, follow him on Twitter/X @LucaVeste or find Luca on Facebook and Instagram.

Given that I’ve heard they are brilliant, I have been meaning to read Peter May’s books for simply ages, but life has always intervened. As a result, I’m thrilled that Peter’s latest novel, The Black Loch is my latest My Weekly magazine online review. My enormous thanks to Sophie Ransom for originally sending me a copy of The Black Loch.

Published by Quercus imprint Riverrun on 12th September 2024, The Black Loch is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

The Black Loch

A MURDER

The body of eighteen-year-old TV personality Caitlin is found abandoned on a remote beach at the head of An Loch Dubh – the Black Loch – on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. A swimmer and canoeist, it is inconceivable that she could have drowned.

A SECRET

Fin Macleod left the island ten years earlier to escape its memories. When he learns that his married son Fionnlagh had been having a clandestine affair with the dead girl and is suspected of her murder, he and Marsaili return to try and clear his name.

A RECKONING

But nothing is as it seems, and the truth of the murder lies in a past that Fin would rather forget, and a tragedy at the cages of a salmon farm on East Loch Roag, where the tense climax of the story finds its resolution.

The Black Loch takes us on a journey through family ties, hidden relationships and unforgiving landscapes, where suspense, violent revenge and revelation converge in the shadow of the Black Loch.

My Review of The Black Loch

My full review of The Black Loch can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that The Black Loch is one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year. I loved the contrasting links between the present events and the past action woven into a beautifully written story with wonderful insight into the human psyche. The Black Loch feels mature, affecting and so entertaining.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Peter May

Peter May was born and raised in Scotland. He was an award-winning journalist at the age of twenty-one and a published novelist at twenty-six. When his first book was adapted as a major drama series for the BBC, he quit journalism and during the high-octane fifteen years that followed, became one of Scotland’s most successful television dramatists. He created three prime-time drama series, presided over two of the highest-rated serials in his homeland as script editor and producer, and worked on more than 1,000 episodes of ratings-topping drama before deciding to leave television to return to his first love, writing novels.

In 2021, Peter was awarded the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. He has also won several literature awards in France, received the USA’s Barry Award for The Blackhouse, the first in his internationally bestselling Lewis Trilogy; and in 2014 was awarded the ITV Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year award for Entry Island. Peter now lives in South-West France with his wife, writer Janice Hally.

For more information, follow Peter on Twitter @authorpetermay, visit his website or find him on Facebook.

A couple of weeks ago it was my privilege to reveal the cover of Tony Lee Moral’s book The Two Masks of Vendetta and you’ll find all the details here. Today I’m back with Tony’s sequel, The Passion of the Cross, which sounds just as brilliant.

The Passion of the Cross is published by the Book Guild on 28th September 2024 and is available for purchase here.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Passion of the Cross

When famed curator Giovanni Montefiore is shockingly murdered at the Italian Opera in Rome following his bold proclamation regarding the authenticity of the True Cross, there are many suspects, but suspicion falls heavily upon his nephew, Mario Montefiore.

With his American girlfriend, actress Catriona Benedict, by his side, they embark on a perilous quest for truth and to uncover the real killer, leading them through some of Italy’s most iconic and glamorous cities.

But as the body count rises and the relentless pursuit of both law enforcement and paparazzi intensifies, they find themselves fleeing to Florence in search of the True Cross, which they hope holds the answers they need. Amidst the ancient streets of Florence, Catriona assumes a daring new identity, delving into a world of shadows and deception.

Will they uncover the secrets surrounding the True Cross before it’s too late?

****

I think this sounds an absolute cracker. Don’t forget The Passion of the Cross is available for purchase here.

About Tony Lee Moral

Tony Lee Moral is an author and mystery and suspense writer who has written four books on Alfred Hitchcock: Alfred Hitchcock Storyboards (2024) published by Titan Books; The Young Alfred Hitchcock’s Movie Making Masterclass (2022) published by Sabana/MWP books; The Making of Hitchcock’s The Birds (2013) published by Kamera Books and Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie Revised Edition (2013) published by Roman and Littlefield/Bloomsbury.

He is also the author of four novels; The Two Masks of Vendetta (2024) and its sequel The Passion of the Cross (2024) published by The Book Guild in September; The Cat That Changed America (2022) and Ghost Maven (2019).

For further information, you can visit Tony’s website, follow him on Twitter/X @TonyLeeMoral and find Tony on Instagram.

Although I’m not taking on much new blog material at the moment because life continues to be challenging, I simply had to review the children’s book, The Littlest Baker by Melissa Cummings and illustrated by Ana Graça.

My huge thanks to Ana for sending me a copy of The Littlest Baker in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

The Littlest Baker is available for purchase here.

The Littlest Baker

Join the Littlest Baker on an adventure as she whisks up goodies for her Grandfather’s bakery. Using ingredients and the melody of the mixer, she captivates all five senses, immersing the reader in a symphony of baking. When she drops the completed treats onto the floor, she is reminded that beautiful things can come from mistakes.

My Review of The Littlest Baker

It’s time to bake cakes for the family shop.

What a charming book for children. The story is an easy one to grasp with The Littlest Baker making cakes for sale in the family shop, having a slight mishap and finding a new positive as a result, so that it is an accessible story for young readers or listeners. I particularly liked the fact that there is space to inscribe a child’s name at the beginning of the book and The Littlest Baker isn’t actually given a name so that the story can ‘belong’ to any young reader.

Plot aside, however, The Littlest Baker is filled with wonderful learning points for the target audience. When the cakes drop to the floor it seems a disaster, but as this leads to a brand new style of cupcake, children come to understand that life often has trials and errors, that we can learn from our mistakes and new opportunities open up.

Other learning opportunities in The Littlest Baker come from the presentation of the story in rhyme so that children can discover actual and near rhyme, homophones and spelling. This is great for enabling children to predict words and engage with the story, as well as illustrating language for emergent writers. Much of the language is familiar, but more difficult words like ‘luxuriously’ increase the vocabulary of both young readers and writers. I thought the health and safety aspects were great too as a grown up helps with the trays hot from the oven.

I loved the fact that not only are all the senses catered for from the sound of the mixer to the taste of the cupcakes, but before the baking begins, the protagonist puts in her hearing aids so that the story feels inclusive too. This is also enhanced by the fact that there is no parent in the story. Children come from all kinds of homes and it is Aunt Tula, Nana and Grandpa who are working with The Littlest Baker so that children without conventional parents are not left feeling like outsiders. Similarly, the characters drawn at the end of the story are from a range of ethnic backgrounds and ages making the inclusivity all the more effective.

Indeed, the illustrations by Ana Graça are delightful all the way through The Littlest Baker. The illustrative style is childlike using pastel shades, without being childish so that it appeals to children. I think there are so many brilliant learning opportunities in the home or other educational settings through the pictures – perhaps in counting the different baked items to help numeracy, or in baking or even in acting out the story using the lovely illustrations to assist, so that young readers can gain in confidence.

If I have one criticism of The Littlest Baker it is that reading it with your class or children is going to make you desperate to try a combined chocolate and strawberry cupcake! Other than that, I thought it was a totally smashing children’s book.

About Melissa Cummings

Mother of two Melissa Cummings lives in South Jersey. She is the head of a book club that was founded in 2016 with a close group of ladies from her community, all of whom share a deep love of reading.

Her debut book The Littlest Barista was written out of necessity. With a child who loves coffee and books, but not a children’s book to be found about coffee, she had no choice but to write it herself.

For more information about Melissa, visit her website and find her on Instagram too.

About Ana Graça

Ana Graça is a filmmaker and a children’s illustrator from Brazil, now based in London.

Ana is particularly interested in visual storytelling and she has a focus on world-building and stories for children. She specialises in children’s illustrations and on pattern and surface design. Ana has collaborated on stationary and pattern design with many brands in Brazil and world-wide, and has had two picture books published.

For further information, visit Ana’s website or find her on Instagram.

You know, it’s a real privilege to review online for My Weekly magazine and I’m delighted to share details of my latest one. This time I’m reviewing Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

My huge thanks to lovely Chloe Davies at Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of Rewitched.

Published by Macmillan in hardback today 19th September 2024, Rewitched is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

Rewitched

It’s time to rediscover her magic . . .

With found family, a dash of romance and an uplifting message about self-love, Rewitched is a cosy autumnal fantasy that will leave readers spellbound.

Belladonna Blackthorn hasn’t lost her magical spark, but she hasn’t seen it in a while either. Balancing work at her beloved London bookshop, Lunar Books, with handling her toxic boss and concealing her witchcraft from those around her – Belle is burnt out. Perfecting the potential of her magic is the last thing on her mind.

But, when her thirtieth birthday brings a summons from her coven and a trial that tests her worthiness as a witch, Belle risks losing her magic for ever. With the month of October to fix things and signs that dark forces may be working against her, Belle will need all the help she can get – from the women in her life, from an unlikely mentor figure and even from an (infuriating) coven watchman who’s sworn to protect her . . .

My Review of Rewitched

My full review of Rewitched can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, here I can say that Rewitched is a lively, dramatic and hugely entertaining story with far greater depth than might initially be imagined. I loved the descriptions, the themes and the slow burn romance unreservedly!

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Lucy Jane Wood

Lucy Jane Wood is an online content creator, avid reader and cosiness-seeker from the Wirral. These days, you’ll find her living in London, giant coffee in hand, and being headbutted at any given time by her cat.

For further information, visit Lucy’s YouTube channel, follow her on Twitter/X @LucyJaneWood or find Lucy on Instagram.

As a huge fan of Sharon Gosling’s books, I was delighted to have the chance to close the blog tour for her latest novel The Secret Orchard. My enormous thanks to SJ of Books and the City for inviting me to take part. It’s my pleasure to share my review today.

You’ll find my review of Sharon’s The House Beneath the Cliffs here, of The Lighthouse Bookshop here and of The Forgotten Garden here.

Published by Simon and Schuster on 12th September 2024 The Secret Orchard is available for purchase through the publisher links here.

The Secret Orchard

Can a return to the past be the start of something new?

Bette and Nina Crowdie have never been close – the ten-year age difference doesn’t help, and Bette’s rarely been home since she left for university at eighteen.

When their father passes away and unexpectedly splits the family farm between them, Nina is furious and afraid. She’s been working at the farm for the past five years. It’s the only home her young son, Barnaby, has ever had, and she’s convinced that Bette will sell at the first chance she gets. When they discover the huge debt their father has been hiding, Bette reluctantly agrees to help her sister. But that means they have to find a way to work together, and Bette must face up to the real reason she left all those years ago.

Could a long-forgotten diary and the discovery of a secret orchard on their land help save the farm – and the sisters’ relationship?

My Review of The Secret Orchard

Bette’s heading home for her father’s funeral.

As I’m a huge fan of Sharon Gosling’s writing I had high hopes for The Secret Orchard and I’m delighted that this book was just as wonderful as her other stories. Filled with an emotional intensity from the very first page, The Secret Orchard is fantastic. I’ve no real idea how she does it, but Sharon Gosling pulls in the reader to her characters’ lives so completely from the opening sentence that it is impossible not to care about them immediately. Her descriptions are beautiful, with a vivid detail that always enhances the story, making the sense of place integral to the action. 

The plot is fabulous, being perfectly balanced between dramatic events and ordinary life, making the story completely absorbing. There’s a little bit of mystery, a bit of romance, some history, horticulture and domestic drama which all weave together into a compelling narrative that truly feels greater than the sum of its parts. The sibling rivalry between Nina and Bette is drawn with warm sensitivity and one of the themes that develops so convincingly is the way Sharon Gosling explores the gap between what we believe about others and what is the truth. 

Whilst the reader gradually learns more about each sister, actually they are not fully revealed and their futures not fully explained by the end of the book, which adds realism and makes them three dimensional. The Secret Orchard has left me thinking about Nina and Bette, wondering how they are doing because they felt so real to me. 

I loved the character of Barnaby too. Usually not a fan of children in stories, I found him natural and believable. There’s great skill in how he shines light and shade on other characters, like Cam, as we see how they respond to him. He’s a great catalyst for action too.

The underpinning themes are explored with maturity and care. The recklessness of youth, the sense of ‘what if?’, the need to belong, the all consuming demands of everyday life, mature relationships, an individual’s fear of making themself vulnerable, are just a few of the aspects woven into The Secret Orchard and making it interesting and entertaining.

Reading Sharon Gosling is like stepping through a secret door into a world populated by people you love and didn’t realise you’ve been missing. The Secret Orchard is an absolutely lovely story that I adored. 

About Sharon Gosling

Sharon started her career as an entertainment journalist, writing non-fiction books about film and television. She is also the author of multiple children’s books. Sharon and her husband live in a small village in northern Cumbria.

When she’s not writing, she creates beautiful linocut artwork and is the author of multiple children’s books. The House Beneath the Cliffs was her first adult novel.

You can follow Sharon on Twitter/X @sharongosling and Instagram for further information.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

A little while ago I received a surprise copy of The Inheritance by Cauvery Madhavan thanks to lovely Lisa Shakespeare. I so enjoyed the book (reviewed here) that I simply had to invite Cauvery to stay in with me to chat all about it. Luckily, she agreed to be here!

Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Cauvery Madhavan

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Cauvery and thank you for agreeing to stay in with me.

Linda it’s great to be here chatting with you! I’ve been following you and your book reviews for a good while now so I’m delighted that it’s my turn to feature in your book bag.

You are always so lovely sharing my posts and I really appreciate it, thank you. I know that I know, but tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought along my fourth book The Inheritance. I’m so proud of this book Linda – it’s the first of my novels to be set fully in Ireland, in the south west of the country. The Beara Peninsula is a truly special place and the landscape, both in the past and the present, is the scaffolding for my story. It was a joy to set my characters and their stories against this backdrop.

And you should be proud of it Cauvery as it’s an absolute delight to read. You capture the setting so beautifully. And as The Inheritance is out tomorrow, let me wish you happy publication day for tomorrow. 

Thanks so much Linda.

I’ve read and loved the book already and readers can find my review here, but what can others expect from an evening in with The Inheritance? 

Be prepared to be captivated by the rugged beauty of Beara and to meet a cast of unforgettable characters! You’ll follow Marlo O’Sullivan from the moment he arrives in Glengarriff and gets to know all his neighbours who will have such a huge impact on him before he knows it. The historical thread from 400 years ago is a hidden history, told through the eyes of a seven year old child who has unfinished business in the ancient oak forests of the valley.

When the historical thread weaves in, it’s a truly surprising aspect. Other than me, who loved the book, what have others said about it?

Donal Ryan who was an early reader said: “Marlo is a wonderful character and the way you prism our view of 1980s Beara and its people through his eyes is masterful. The interweaving of the stories from the past is fantastic. I think it really works, as it adds to the sense of the long fractious history of the place and the lies, secrets and violence that shape the country and a person.”

I totally agree! What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I brought along a bunch of  blood red fuchsia and some orange montbretia too because these wildflowers captivated Marlo the morning after he arrived in Glengarriff.

I loved your descriptions of the flowers!

And this is a copy of a photograph that I took of myself at the ancient stone vault of the O’Sullivan clan on Dursey Island. So much of the critical action in the historical part of the novel happens on this beautiful island that is today reached by cable car.

I’m so jealous. As a result of reading The Inheritance I’m desperate to visit.

And to round it off I have a glass of Guinness straight from Casey’s pub in Glengarrif!

That sounds perfect. Thank you so much for staying in with me to chat about The Inheritance Cauvery. Pour me a glass too and I’ll give Linda’s Book Bag readers a few more details about the book. 

The Inheritance

It’s 1986 and 29-year-old Marlo O’Sullivan of London-Irish stock has just found out that his sister is his mother. To steady his life, he moves to Glengarriff, to a cottage he has inherited, in the stunning Beara Peninsula. When a neighbour dies unexpectedly, Marlo takes over his minibus service to Cork. There is nothing regular about the regulars on the bus – especially Sully, a non-verbal 7 year old, who goes nowhere but does the journey back and forth every day, on his own. Marlo is landed with this a strange but compassionate arrangement, fashioned to give the child’s mother respite from his care. Sully’s obsession with an imaginary friend in the ancient oak forests of Glengarriff slowly unveils its terrible secrets – a 400-hundred-year-old tragedy revels itself.

Published by Hope Road tomorrow, 19th September, The Inheritance is available in the usual places including directly from the publisher here.

About Cauvery Madhavan

Cauvery Madhavan was born and educated in India. She worked as a copywriter in her hometown of Chennai (formerly Madras). Cauvery moved to Ireland over three decades years ago and has been in love with the country ever since. Her other books are: Paddy Indian, The Uncoupling and The Tainted. 

She lives with her husband and three children in beautiful County Kildare.

For further information, visit Cauvery’s website, follow Cauvery on Twitter/X @CauveryMadhavan and find her on Instagram.