If like me, you’re a fan of the genre known as Tartan Noir (think Ann Cleeves’ Shetland series, Wendy H Jones’ DI Shona McKenzie books and anything by Val McDermid) you’ll be delighted to hear that Scottish author Helen Forbes has just brought out her third novel.
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Scent of Water: One woman's journey through grief
Ruth Leigh reviews Penelope Swithinban’s Scent of Water. “I was delighted to be asked to review Penelope Swithinbank’s new book, “Scent of Water” which sprang from a traumatic loss of her own, that of her beloved mother in an accident. Penelope understands what it’s like”.
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Leah + Rachel + Jacob + Esau (Gamora + Nebula)
This week on Big Words and Made Up Stories, I’m reviewing an excellent new novel by Amanda Bedzrah. “Leah: Unnoticed, Unwanted, Unloved” is the story of two sisters, the daughters of Laban, a somewhat unprincipled chap with an eye to the main chance. The story appears in the book of Genesis, and for the purposes of this review, I’m using the Message translation.
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Two by Two: A Review of “Not Knowing but Still Going” by Jocelyn-Anne Harvey
The author, Jocelyn-Anne Harvey (an Instant Apostle stablemate) first got an inkling that she might like to write about Noah and his family when a cargo ship capsized out to sea and more than 2,000 tons of wood were washed up on Worthing beach, near her home. I was captivated from the off when I read her description of the event.
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A chat with Joy Margetts
For the first time ever, I’m interviewing another writer, a fellow Instant Apostle stablemate. Her first novel, The Healing, the story of a medieval monk and a disillusioned nobleman, comes out on 23rd April. I caught up with Joy last week to ask her some questions.
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