It’s always a pleasure to meet a new to me author and I am very pleased to welcome Bob Farrand to Linda’s Book Bag today to tell me about his debut novel.  Let’s find out what Bob had to tell me:

Staying in with Bob Farrand

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

Hello Linda, thank you so much allowing me to suggest my book for your blog.

Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

The Snake That Bites its Tail is my first novel and is the culmination of half a century of thoughts and daydreams while relishing half a century as a magazine publisher.

That sounds quite some gestation period! What can we expect from an evening in with The Snake that Bites its Tail.

So much of the story is drawn from my life experiences although I assure you, I am not a murderer. Or then again, could I be? Which of us is truly conscious of who we really are and how others see us?

That’s a very good point. 

As Clive James wrote after first sighting a portrait of himself he barely recognised:

And so, this other man slowly appears

Who is not me as I as I would wish to be,

But is the me I try not to see

I have a feeling we all feel like that from time to time Bob!

My story deals with the all-too-common life experiences of ordinary folk. People who live with mental illness, financial problems, parental control, divorce, a yearning for stability and family kinship and the cruelty of a guilt warped by outdated moral codes.

More importantly, the novel examines mankind’s instinctive need to control others and to seek vengeance when wronged. Can the killing of another human being ever be justified and how much free will do we, as humans possess? Our hero, Robin Farnham, may be guilty of four vengeance killings although he remains doggedly convinced of his innocence.

That sounds intriguing. Tell me more about Robin.

Robin is a retired magazine publisher who, on being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, attempts suicide to spare his family his slow deterioration. He awakes in a dementia home to be told the police suspect him of murder and under the care of enigmatic psychiatrist, Dr Peter Lakmaker, we begin to unravel the traumas of Robin’s life.

We learn of his possible involvement in not one but four murders, all acts of vengeance, all of which he could have committed.

Lakmaker also treats Jane Foster, a 16-year-old who runs away from home after being sexually abused by her adoptive father. Jane traces her birth mother, is involved in a loveless marriage as she searches for the family she was denied as a child and eventually settles into a long-term gay relationship. She and Robin meet in the year 2000, when she starts working in his business and we finally begin to unravel some of the truths hidden inside both their lives.

I have a feeling there’s even more to discover…

Along the way, we learn of the mysterious Ouroborous bracelet Robin found as a teenager and the impact it has exerted on his life. We meet Krait, a disturbing character who is also counselled by Lakmaker and Kraits revelations about Robin and Jane lead us into the harrowing but plausible climax.

My word. The Snake That Bites Its Tail sounds very profound as well as an incredible read.

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

My working life was spent in magazine publishing, the past thirty years running my own business involving food and drink magazines, awards, exhibitions, training programmes all to do with fine food and drink. In 2000, Hamlyn published my Cheese Handbook, a very personal selection of my 80 favourite cheeses.

Did you say cheese? You can come again. I love cheese!

Over the course of 35 years, my business has become a leading influencer in the world of artisan food and drink. We set up the World Cheese Awards, now the largest and most important global cheese event. Each year, it is held in a different country although this year, perversely, it was scheduled to be held in Kiev but has now been rearranged for Wales. We set up The Great Taste Awards, the most respected independent food accreditation scheme in the world, where some 15,000 different food and drink products are assessed each year.

Oh. I know a woman who’d be happy to act as a judge. Just saying…

One significant event during my career was the real stimulus for The Snake that Bites its Tail.  The disastrous business failure I suffered in the early 1990’s which is graphically depicted in the novel prompted me to turn to 19^th century philosophy for guidance and ultimately prompted me to write the novel. Understanding the motivation behind vengeance, how and why it has rarely ever been controlled and has inspired philosophers to argue mankind’s behaviour is mostly instinctive and involves little or no free will.

This in turn pushed me to examine the wider implication of life and death, faith and non-faith and time as a circular dimension.

While finishing the novel gave me great satisfaction, I believe what I truly enjoyed more was the learning process. I had written 1500 articles on food and drink for years, but the disciplines involved in creating a 100,000-word book are entirely different. Literary festivals, online courses and some very critical but nevertheless constructive editors all helped me gain understanding of techniques needed for character building, dialogue, pace and engaging the reader. The learning curve was sharp but fascinating.

I imagine it was Bob. I think you sound the living embodiment of ‘What doesn’t break us, makes us stronger’! Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about the fascinating sounding The Snake That Bites Its Tail. I think you should serve up some cheese and I’ll give Linda’s Book Bag readers a few more details.

The Snake That Bites Its Tail

In 1965, nineteen-year-old Robin Farnham believes he ran over an old man but on stopping his car, finds no body, merely a gold bracelet of a snake biting its tail.

In 1981, sixteen-year-old Jane Foster is sexually abused by her adoptive father and attacks him before fleeing to London where she consults Dr Peter Lakmaker, a psychiatrist.

In 2021, now retired, Farnham is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and prescribed a drug on clinical trial. He attempts suicide but awakes in hospital to be told he is suspected of murder. Protected from the police by Dr Lakmaker, Robin is encouraged to write about his life to monitor the new drug’s effectiveness.

Over a period of half a century, Robin and Jane’s lives are interrelated although it is not until the year 2000, they finally meet. Robin’s quest for the truth behind his involvement in not one, but three murders and Jane’s tormented search for her birth parents and the close family relationship denied her as a child are muddied by the strangely prophetic Oroborous bracelet Robin wears and the appearance of the vengeance seeking Krait.

Separating fact from fiction has rarely presented more of a challenge, for the characters in the story or the reader.

The Snake That Bites Its Tail was published by Matador on 22nd February 2022 and is available in all the usual places including here. The author’s proceeds are all donated to the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation.

About Bob Farrand

During half a century in magazine publishing, Bob Farrand launched the Guild of Fine Food; published the magazines Fine Good Digest and Good Cheese; created the Great Taste Awards alongside the World Cheese Awards and trained over 20,000 UK staff working behind cheese counters in specialist food retailers and supermarkets. In 2000 he wrote The Cheese Handbook (Hamlyn) a personal selection of eighty great cheeses. Bob lives near Shaftesbury, Dorset, with his wife Linda. The Snake that Bites its Tale is his first novel.

You can follow Bob on Twitter @bobsfoodblog and Instagram.

Sometimes a book comes along that I am desperate to read but I simply can’t fit it in with the other commitments I have. Such is the case with Nicola Matthews’ debut book. However, I do have time to chat with Nicola all about it and luckily she agreed to stay in with me today.

Staying in with Nicola Matthews

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

Thank you very much for inviting me.

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 debut novel, Kitty Canham. The novel is based on real events that took place in the early eighteenth century, here, on our Essex backwaters. I am so excited to share with you something of Kitty’s intriguing story; the very thing that inspired me to write.

Oo. I love a blend of fact and fiction. What can we expect from an evening in with Kitty Canham?

I love to be transported to another time and place when I read. Kitty travels from Essex to London and further afield, but it is the liminal landscape of the estuary on which I live and which Kitty would have walked 300 years previously, that really took my imagination. It was lock down when I started writing, so I found myself immersed in the area’s haunting beauty. Some of my Amazon reviewers call the novel ‘immersive’ or as one said in a different way, ‘This is a story that captures the imagination and allows one to be lost in its pages.’

That’s such a lovely thing to hear. Congratulations.As well as landscape, tell me a bit about Kitty.

How a character deals with dilemmas fascinates me. Kitty is a feisty and passionate woman who finds herself struggling against the conventions of the age, sometimes making progress, at other times finding the tide of expectation too difficult for her. In forging her own path, she faces moral dilemmas that are not easily settled.

Sounds intriguing.

It is important to me not to put characters in ‘goody and baddy’ categories. People are complex and when things go badly it is usually because of faulty communication and wrong expectation. Kitty is surrounded by people who are not inherently bad but who sometimes make terrible choices or who withhold truth to misguidedly protect another. My hope is that all my characters, draw you into their lives and leave you feeling that you know them and have travelled with them.

I think the people in Kitty Canham sound vivid and real Nicola.

My background in theatre is, perhaps, evident in my writing. When I write I see every scene unfolding before me in 3D. The characters are active: their presence and movement always comes to me before their facial features. Maybe this is so for most writers. I’ll have to ask about.

I have seen review that suggest Kitty Canham would be perfect for television or film so you could be right!

Another factor is that a story needs to be told in an evening in the theatre. Kitty Canham is not a light read, in terms of content, but it is an easy read. The narrative takes you on a journey that spans a number of years. However, it is told in a linear fashion. It starts at the beginning and ends at the end, making it perfect for an evening of reading. As one reviewer puts it, ‘Loved this book from the beginning with the story weaving through the varied life of Kitty at pace. Such a visual read. Hardly put it down till finished.’

That’s so refreshing to hear. I’m not always keen on multiple timelines. So, how is Kitty Canham being received?

I expect every author wants to feel that their efforts have enriched their readers lives. Another reviewer suggested that the novel did just that, for her anyway,

‘I absolutely loved this book and heartily commend it to anyone who would love to escape for a few hours into another era and environment. I feel so much richer having read it.’

That is fantastic and makes me want to read about Kitty even more!

That is, I suppose, my greatest accolade and my hopeful expectation for anyone having an evening in with Kitty Canham.

 Absolutely. What else have you brought along and why have you brought it?

I had planned to bring along a picture of the backwaters, because I could wax lyrical about the landscape all day. But then I remembered this antique perfume bottle. I bring it because this little bottle blindsides Kitty at a time when she is beginning to realise that her life at home is becoming untenable. It opens her to possibilities she never would have imagined. It is the emblem of both her hopes and her inevitable sorrows.

Now you’ve intrigued me completely Nicola. Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about Kitty Canham. I think it sounds fabulous. Let me give Linda’s Book Bag readers a few more details:

Kitty Canham

This is a fictional story woven around real life events that took place on the North Essex coast.

It is 1739. A woman had to be strong to make her way amid the conventions of the age. When the withheld truths that uphold those conventions begin to unravel around Kitty, she finds herself alienated from all she knows and loves.

Through an unexpected invitation she visits London society. There she becomes the keeper of a secret, which leads her into a deception of her own.

With few options Kitty determines to live a conventional life, but when tragedy strikes, misunderstandings follow and her life unravels once more. All the while she keeps her secret close, but the time will come when she can keep it no longer.

Kitty Canham is published by Hall House Press and is available for purchase here.

About Nicola Matthews

Nicola Matthews has always been involved in the creative industries, particularly in theatre and art. However, she primarily considers herself a storyteller and observer of the human condition. Nicola loves the enneagram and anything that picks our personalities apart! Nicola also loves her family, the countryside, and evenings round a campfire musing with friends. Poetry has been a constant companion, and she has published a small anthology called Anxt and other poems. Kitty Canham is her debut novel.

For further information, visit Nicola’s website, follow her on Twitter @nicola_author or find her on Instagram and Facebook.

When George Spender got in touch from Samander Street about I Am Ill With Hope: poems and sketches by Gommie I knew I simply had to read and review it. I’m delighted to share my review today and would like to thank George enormously for sending me a copy of I Am Ill With Hope: poems and sketches by Gommie.

Published by Salamander Street on 27th September 2022, I Am Ill With Hope: Poems and Sketches by Gommie is available for purchase here.

I Am Ill With Hope: poems and sketches by Gommie

In 2019 poet-artist Gommie began walking the coastline of an England with nothing but a backpack, a tent and an unusually large collection of pens. His aim? Searching for hope during increasingly hard times.

From losing his way on the Dover Hills to bankruptcy in Rhyl and wild camping in Scarborough, Gommie’s extraordinary journey is still ongoing, and his findings, a deeply moving mixture of texture, illustration, poetry and verbatim conversations, are a gentle homage to the often-overlooked places we inhabit and the frequently forgotten voices we hear.

My Review of I Am Ill With Hope: poems and sketches by Gommie

Intimate, personal and moving I Am Ill With Hope is exquisitely simultaneously painful and uplifting to read. Gommie has created found poetry that speaks for us all, but especially the lonely, the ordinary person and those who still believe in hope and love. I found reading I Am Ill With Hope gave me a physical sensation in my chest as if my very heart were being squeezed. There’s both a literal and metaphorical connection with humanity to be found here. I didn’t actually read the introduction until after I’d read the poems and when I did I found myself quite undone by Gommie’s hoest, self-deprecating words.

The presentation of the entries in I Am Ill With Hope truly affects their meaning. I especially loved those where I had to search amongst the illustrations to find the words – in much the same way as Gommie has searched across England and Wales to find those whose voices echo through the poems. More affecting still is the way the poet searches for himself along the way. We are all always looking for meaning in life and Gommie’s collection shows that so effectively.

The illustrations add depth and poignancy. I know absolutely nothing about art, but they seem simultaneously to have an intensity and a looseness so that they feel emotional and immediate, as if Gommie has taken the time to look closely at things others see only superficially and record their transience.

There’s something profound about how the ordinary or the marginalised in society have been given a sense of status and, indeed, immortality through I Am Ill With Hope. The collection is precisely of its time and yet also timeless, touching on themes of human connection, mental and physical health, loneliness and love, identity and belonging. I found it touched me deeply. I really recommend others to read it because I think they will find a little part of themselves they didn’t even realise was lost. I did.

About Gommie

Gommie pictured with Emilia Clarke courtesy of Salamander Street

Oliver Gomm is an artist, poet and former actor. Following a breakdown in 2016, he decided to quit acting and began walking the coasts of England and Wales. Starting in Devon, he travelled through Ramsgate, Winstable, Faversham, Sheerness, Pitsea, Southend, Basildon, Ipswich, Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Cleethorps, Grimsby, Hull, Spurn Point, Bridlington, Scarborough, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, across Hadrian’s wall, Bowness-on-soloway, Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven, Barrow, Whitstable, Lancaster, Blackpool, Preston, Liverpool, Flint and Rhyl.

Gommie won the Soho House Newcomer award presented by Kate Bryan. With lockdown, the walking tour ended. Gommie lost a project, but he gained a method. His work is currently being exhibited as part of the Soho House Collection.

You can find Gommie on Instagram or visit his website.

After the past couple of years when life has been so challenging, Masami S.C decided to write and illustrate Brown Bear and Oofie Present: The Loss of a Loved One to help young children come to terms with loss. When Serena got in touch about her project, I knew I had to feature it here on Linda’s Book Bag and I’m delighted to share my review today.

My enormous thanks to Serena for sending me a copy of Brown Bear and Oofie Present: The Loss of a Loved One as well as Brown Bear and Oofie Present: The Loss of Identity and  Brown Bear and Oofie Present: The Verbal Bully.

Brown Bear and Oofie Present: The Loss of a Loved One is available for purchase through the links here and worldwide on Amazon.

Brown Bear and Oofie Present: The Loss of a Loved One

Death is inevitable. No one likes to talk about it because it is such a depressing and emotional topic. Brown Bear & Oofie are best friends and have life learning experiences together. In The Loss of a Loved One, Brown Bear’s Grandma (Mimi), has died. Oofie helps Brown Bear with emotional support and they discuss the topic of death together. This book will help parents and kids ease into this very difficult fact of life. The detailed facial expressions of the two characters will help children connect with their own emotions and grief that they are experiencing from their personal loss of a loved one.
This book is not geared towards any one particular religion. Instead, it provides comfort and inspires the reader to keep an open mind about the possibilities of what happens to us once we depart.

My Review of Brown Bear and Oofie Present: The Loss of a Loved One

A children’s book about the grieving process.

Those of you who know my reviews of children’s books will know I have a pet niggle and so I’m going to get it out of the way before I review The Loss of a Loved One properly. I really prefer words not to be written entirely in upper case letters, even in direct speech, as I don’t feel it models how we want children to learn to write. Right. That’s that done!

Although The Loss of a Loved One is a children’s book, I found the author’s introduction both moving and helpful as it is relevant to any child – whatever their age.

The story is simple as Brown Bear and Ooofie discuss Brown Bear’s Grandma Mimi who has just died. I liked the way Oofie introduced the death of a pet too as this is often the first encounter with death that children have, making The Loss of a Loved One relevant and relatable.

The more difficult vocabulary is highlighted and explained with a glossary of featured words at the end so that The Loss of a Loved One gently introduces language to help children articulate their emotions in a valuable and helpful manner. Indeed, the physical presentation of the book also helps here as there is a charmingly illustrated version of events in Brown Bear and Oofie’s conversation mostly on the right hand pages, with a second more detailed exposition on the left page which has plenty of white space and clear font for emergent and young readers to access so that grief is explained and explored with some practical advice given. This makes The Loss of a Loved One useful in a variety of situations from home and school to community venues. The robust cover ensures a durability in community setting too.

I particularly liked the illustrations in The Loss of a Loved One because they have a simple charm and as they don’t depict a particular race or ethnicity, being toys, there is no danger of exclusion.

Brown Bear and Oofie Present: The Loss of a Loved One is an important and helpful children’s book to help them and the adults in their lives, come to terms with grief and how to accept and overcome it. There’s the raising of what happens after death without any particular belief being advocated so that the story leads to further discussion. It is especially sensitive in explaining that we all react differently to grief and that no particular reaction is the correct one. I really recommend it.

About Masami S.C.

Masami S.C. is a pseudonym created by Serena Masami Caspary, a NYU graduate with a BFA in dance from Tisch School of the Arts.

For more information, visit The Brown Bear and Oofie website, or find them on Facebook and on Instagram.

When Alison Menzies got in touch about Don’t Turn Away: Stories of Troubled Minds in Fractured Times by Penelope Campling I was so sorry I simply couldn’t fit in reading it. In these difficult times of international, national and for many, personal, crisis I thought Don’t Turn Away sounded such an important book that I decided to feature it here on Linda’s Book Bag today.

Let’s find out more:

Don’t Turn Away: Stories of Troubled Minds in Fractured Times has been featured on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and is published by Elliott & Thompson. Don’t Turn Away is available for purchase in all the usual places including here.

Don’t Turn Away

Stories of Troubled Minds in Fractured Times

Over the course of her 40-year career, psychiatrist and psychotherapist Penelope Campling has worked with patients from all walks of life, from survivors of abuse to ICU doctors struggling under the strain of Covid-19. She has seen many positive changes in how we approach mental health – and yet she is increasingly troubled by the state of our health services. Too often those suffering from serious mental illness are being neglected, locked away, even abused.

In Don’t Turn Away Campling takes us into the therapy room, offering unique insight into how we treat those in distress. She shows us how the progress made in a more optimistic era of psychiatry is fast being eroded; how our struggling healthcare system often fails those who need our support; and how crucial it is in today’s uncertain world that we do not turn away.

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I don’t know about you, but I think Don’t Turn Away sounds as if we all need to read it as soon as we can.

About Penelope Campling

Penelope Campling is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, and a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. For twenty years, she ran the Leicester NHS service for people diagnosed with personality disorder.  She is  the co-author of the highly influential Intelligent Kindness: Rehabilitating the Welfare State (CUP, revised 2020) which led to her being awarded an honorary fellowship of the Royal College of General Practice. She  has worked with patients from all walks of life, from survivors of abuse to ICU doctors struggling under the strain of the Pandemic. She has seen many positive changes in how we approach mental health – and yet she is increasingly troubled that the progress made in a more hopeful era of psychiatry is fast being eroded and that our struggling healthcare system often fails those in greatest need.

It’s several years since I first met the brilliant Vaseem Khan and discovered what an erudite, charming and downright lovely man he is, but although I have had that privilege several times, even introducing him at the Deepings Literary Festival, and have carried copies of his books to on holiday to India, Sri Lanka and Croatia, I’ve never before managed to read him! It’s more than time to correct that and I’m delighted to share my review of Vaseem’s latest book, The Lost Man of Bombay today. My huge thanks to Vaseem for ensuring I received a copy and to the folk at Hodder for sending me the book in return for an honest review.

The Lost Man of Bombay is published today, 18th August 2022 by Hodder and Stoughton and is available for purchase through the links here.

The Lost Man of Bombay

Bombay, 1950

When the body of a white man is found frozen in the Himalayan foothills near Dehra Dun, he is christened the Ice Man by the national media. Who is he? How long has he been there? Why was he killed?

As Inspector Persis Wadia and Metropolitan Police criminalist Archie Blackfinch investigate the case in Bombay, they uncover a trail left behind by the enigmatic Ice Man – a trail leading directly into the dark heart of conspiracy.

Meanwhile, two new murders grip the city. Is there a serial killer on the loose, targeting Europeans?

Rich in atmosphere, the thrilling third chapter in the CWA Historical Dagger-winning Malabar House series pits Persis against a mystery from beyond the grave, unfolding against the backdrop of a turbulent post-colonial India, a nation struggling to redefine itself in the shadow of the Raj.

My Review of The Lost Man of Bombay

Persis has several new cases to solve.

I must say at the outset that although The Lost Man of Bombay is the third book in the Malabar House series, it doesn’t matter at all if, like me, you haven’t read the first two; but be warned, after reading this one you’re going to want to read the others immediately. I just loved it!

In The Lost Man of Bombay there’s such a fluid and engaging style that the pages turn themselves. There’s a lightness of touch and a wry humour beneath Vaseem Khan’s writing that means he paints a vivid educational picture of India’s history, politics and geography without the reader actually realising how much they are learning at the same time as being brilliantly entertained. The Lost Man of Bombay truly transports the reader to post war India through the use of the senses, painterly descriptions and authoritative, assiduously researched, writing.

The plot is outrageously good, writhing along with dramatic pace so that it is impossible to guess the various reveals as they come, making for an exciting, ensnaring story. I loved the way Persis uncovered the truth with chapters ending on mini cliff hangers, or by her mind slipping to other events so that at the same time the plot is being revealed, Persis’ character is developed too.

And what a character Persis is. She’s fabulous. The first female Indian policewoman, she is multi-faceted and layered and by no means perfect, being spikey and quick-tempered as well as occasionally immature and selfish so that she feels all the more vivid and real. Her tortured feelings about her father, her position in society and about Archie make her absolutely of the era of The Lost Man of Bombay, yet simultaneously modern and fresh, ensuring she is relatable and appealing. Vaseem Khan has so engaged me with Persis’ character that I simply have to read the first two books in the Malabar House series to discover more about her back story and cannot wait for another adventure featuring her.

Adventure is just one aspect of Vaseem Khan’s wonderful narrative. There’s police procedural crime, historical fiction, intrigue and a smattering of romance that makes The Lost Man of Bombay such delicious storytelling of the very best kind. With humour and emotional connection added too, I absolutely adored The Lost Man of Bombay. It’s gone straight on the list of my favourite reads this year. Don’t miss it!

About Vaseem Khan

Vaseem Khan is the author of two crime series set in India, the Baby Ganesh Agency series set in modern Mumbai, and the Malabar House historical crime novels set in 1950s Bombay. His first book, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was a Times bestseller, now translated into 15 languages. The second in the series won the Shamus Award in the US. In 2018, he was awarded the Eastern Eye Arts, Culture and Theatre Award for Literature. Vaseem was born in England, but spent a decade working in India.

Midnight at Malabar House, the first in his historical crime series, won the CWA Historical Dagger 2021, the pre-eminent prize for historical crime fiction in the world. His book The Dying Day about the theft of one of the world’s great treasures, a 600 year old copy of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, stored at Bombay’s Asiatic Society.

For further information, visit Vaseem’s website, follow him on Twitter @VaseemKhanUK, or find him on Facebook and Instagram.

My enormous thanks to Sophie Portas for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for The Family Retreat by Bev Thomas and for sending me a copy of the book in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

The Family Retreat is published by Faber on 25th August 2022 and is available for purchase here.

The Family Retreat

When Rob decides the family needs to get away for the summer Jess is not convinced – won’t all the things they’re escaping be waiting for them on their return? But the kids are thrilled, and before long their idyllic little cottage, the sea air, and the feel of skin sticky from sun-cream, lollies and sand, begins to work its magic. Jess allows herself to sink into the holiday vibes – the family even make holiday friends.

The summer heat intensifies Jess – ever vigilant – unearths a secret, a problem she’s sure she can help solve. But things are not always as they seem. The water may look inviting but even the gentlest looking waves can hide the deadliest undercurrents.

As autumn approaches, Jess – and the reader – will come to realise this is going to end in a way no-one could have imagined…

My Review of The Family Retreat

It took me quite a while to read The Family Retreat because it felt so intense, so raw and so accurate that I needed to step back from time to time and process the depth of emotion and tension. I thought Bev Thomas’s ability to draw in the reader and make them experience what Jess experiences was exceptional.

I can’t say much about the plot for fear of spoiling the read for others, but what Bev Thomas does so completely brilliantly is a kind of sleight of hand that has the reader believing one thing before she hits them with a different reality that is breath taking. As the narrative drew to a close I felt literally rooted to my seat as I read, unable to tear myself away form what was happening.

The Family Retreat is fabulously written, and I loved the setting descriptions particularly. It comes as no surprise that the author was a psychologist as the authenticity, the sensitivity and the authority of the psychological elements is mesmerising, making the book a brilliant read. There are some difficult themes explored through the narrative that give The Family Retreat incredible depth and maturity.

I loved the characterisation because, through the lynchpin of Jess, we get to know the people in The Family Retreat so completely. Jess felt totally real to me and so many aspects of her personality resonated with me personally, particularly that of trying to be all things to all people, so that the narrative was all the more affecting. However, the one person who astounded me most was Polly who is a universal everywoman so familiar in today’s society. Helen’s response to Polly’s experiences has a seismic impact on the reader and I wish every politician and patriarchal figure could read The Family Retreat so that they understand the lives of so many in our society. Through these characters Bev Thomas gave me far greater clarity and understanding than any factual account has managed. A retreat suggests a place of reflection and learning and my word do these characters learn about themselves and others!

I’m aware this review is somewhat vague and indistinct but it’s hard to articulate thoughts without giving away too much. I can say, however, that I thought The Family Retreat was, quite simply, excellent – in style, subject matter, plot and character. I found it compelling, affecting and educational as well as totally entertaining. Don’t miss this one.

About Bev Thomas

Bev Thomas was a clinical psychologist in the NHS for many years. She currently works as an organisational consultant in mental health and other services. She lives in London with her family. Her debut novel, A Good Enough Mother, was published in 2019.

You can find Bev on Twitter @BevThomas20.

There’s more with these other bloggers too:

Given that Sharon Gosling’s The House Beneath the Cliffs (reviewed here) was one of my books of the year in 2021, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to review Sharon’s latest book, The Lighthouse Bookshop for the My Weekly website.

Published by Simon and Schuster on 18th August 2022, The Lighthouse Bookshop is available for purchase through the links here.

The Lighthouse Bookshop

At the heart of a tiny community in a remote village just inland from the Aberdeenshire coast stands an unexpected lighthouse. Built two centuries ago by an eccentric landowner, it has become home to the only bookshop for miles around.

Rachel is an incomer to the village. She arrived five years ago and found a place she could call home. So when the owner of the Lighthouse Bookshop dies suddenly, she steps in to take care of the place, trying to help it survive the next stage of its life.

But when she discovers a secret in the lighthouse, long kept hidden, she realises there is more to the history of the place than she could ever imagine. Can she uncover the truth about the lighthouse’s first owner? And can she protect the secret history of the place?

My Review of The Lighthouse Bookshop

My full review of The Lighthouse Bookshop can be found on the My Weekly website here.

However, what I can say here is that The Lighthouse Bookshop is just wonderful and I adored it. It’s gone straight on my list of books of the year.

Do visit My Weekly to read my full review here.

About Sharon Gosling

Sharon Gosling lives with her husband in a very remote village in northern Cumbia, where they moved to run a second-hand bookshop, Withnail Books in Penrith. She began her career in entertainment journalism, writing for magazines in the science fiction and fantasy genre, before moving on to write tie-in books for TV shows such as Stargate and the ‘re-imagined’ Battlestar Galactica. She has also written, produced and directed audio dramas based in the same genre.

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

You can follow Sharon on Twitter @sharongosling and Instagram or visit her blog.