Tag: historical fiction

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: All Cats Are Grey – Susan Barnett

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January, 1942. London is dark – and not just because of the blackout.

The worst of the Blitz may be over, but still the city’s a treacherous place. Buses run without headlights. Bomb rubble lies underfoot. Looters and petty criminals roam the shattered streets. And somewhere in the ruins stalks a serial killer the papers have dubbed The Beast of the Blackout.

As a fear of death, delivered not from the sky but lurking in the bomb sites, grips South London, four unlikely allies are assembled by Civil Defence warden Albert, self-appointed shepherd patrolling his nightly patch. Edwin, Bette and Cat share nothing in common, except one extraordinary secret: each has killed an abuser and got away with it. Now, forged by trauma and driven to deliver retribution to those who hurt and harm, they come together to stop a monster the police have failed to catch.

What follows is a daring hunt through bombed streets and moral grey zones, as the mismatched murderers plot to save the Beast’s next victim, Violet and deliver their own brutal justice. But this is no simple vigilante tale. All brought here by their own harrowing journey, each comes uniquely equipped for the kill: Edwin with his knowledge of poisons, Bette her muscle, Cat her courage, while Albert will weave the net to catch the killer in.

Drawing on meticulous historical research, the novel explores the lurid world of Victorian poisons and poisoners; early silent films and the lasting damage left by the First World War on not just those who fought, but the people they came home to. While rooted in the past, the book also speaks urgently to the present, offering a reflection on what it means to be and feel ‘safe’, and how even now a woman may put herself in danger just walking home alone.

A gripping and morally daring novel, All Cats Are Grey offers a haunting portrait of wartime London, and a powerful meditation on justice, survival and the thin line between right and wrong.

My thoughts: I found this intense and fascinating. As the various characters find their way through the London blackouts, home from work or like Alby, off on his rounds as an ARP warden. However, somewhere in the dark lurks a killer, looking for a young woman to lure to her death.

Unfortunately he picks out the wrong ones this time as neither Bette or Cat are victims – rather they’re killers. Both have had to protect themselves and remove abusers from their lives permanently. Alby had planned to help Cat with this particular monster, but she’s smarter than he realises.

None of the people in this are perfect, far from it, but all of them did what they did for very clear reasons, and you sort of admire them for that. 

The blackout helps hide various sins and crimes, there’s a theme of houses being blown up and burnt down, a way to bring an end to things. Every character is a survivor and while none of them are punished, in a way, they’ve already paid for what they did by their pasts. 

A truly interesting read.  

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Book and the Knife – Paul Cobb

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In 1031, an Arab scientist, a Jewish astronomer and a Christian monk gather under the dome of an observatory in Spain.

A foretelling written on the blade of a knife tells of a new ruler, whose power will come from the knowledge in a centuries old book. As its guardians begin to covet this knowledge for themselves, the book is drawn into the conflict between the houses of Wessex and Godwin, and England’s destiny. It will carry a secret at the heart of the succession to the English throne.

But the book is in danger, from those who will use it for the wealth and power it can bring — or who want to destroy it.

From Spain to Normandy and England, The Book and the Knife: Thegn of Berewic is the story of the power of knowledge, of a generation—spanning blood feud, and of the struggle for control of England before the Norman invasion of 1066. A story of loyalty and treachery, love and hate.

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Paul Cobb was born into a Yorkshire farming family and lives in Kent. A conservationist by profession and a historian by interest, he has lived and worked his whole life in the landscapes he writes about, and loves weaving his fictional characters around these as much
as around the real figures from history.

Paul has also published poetry and is a former magazine columnist.

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My thoughts: set before the Norman Conquest in 1066, which is a period I’m a bit hazy on history wise (at school it went Alfred the Great….Norman Conquest, which isn’t very helpful) during a time of struggle for the English throne between powerful families, this chronicles the events that lead to William, Duke of Normandy deciding to take the throne he was supposedly promised by force.

The characters know William, they’re in his orbit and some even serve him, but the power struggle for the seat of Berewic is beneath his notice, even though it’s important in how the future will play out, two young men’s destinies are tied to it.

The sacred book passes through several hands, some who would use its knowledge for their own gain, and some who would safeguard it for the future. It’s a bit like the Holy Grail or the Philosopher’s Stone (which is even in the book), powerful, dangerous and desired by many.

This is the first in a series and does a lot of world building, taking us back more than 900 years to a time when Westminster Cathedral is being built, when the Britain we live in today was very, very different. From Spain to France to England, the journey the book and it’s secrets go on leads to power and conflict.

Interesting and clearly well researched, with lots of detail to bring the period and the figures, real and imagined, to life.

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Blog Tour: Thornby Manor – Stephanie Bramwell-Lawes

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Warwickshire, 1891. Recently orphaned and left destitute, Briar Monroe accepts the protection of Lord Danville and the shadowed sanctuary of Thornby Manor.

The great house looms above a mist-shrouded lake, its corridors heavy with secrets – not least the mysterious death of Lady Elizabeth Danville, and the unspoken tensions between her formidable widower and his magnetic son, Gabriel.

As Briar navigates the undercurrents of a household ruled by watchful servants and locked doors, she is drawn ever deeper into a web of suspicion, desire and fear.

Whispers in the night, figures at windows, and a constant sense of being watched leave her questioning not only the truth about Thornby, but her own safety within its walls.

Atmospheric, intoxicating and laced with peril, Thornby Manor is a gothic tale of betrayal, obsession and a house that never forgets.

Stephanie Bramwell-Lawes grew up in the historic city of Bath and studied History and Ancient History at Exeter University.

A lifelong love of literature led to a career in publishing in 2009, and her passion for books has only continued to grow ever since. Her favourite novels include Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, and anything by Tracy Chevalier.

She currently lives in a restored asylum in Warwickshire with her husband and a small feline dictator named Ruby. Thornby Manor is her debut novel.

My thoughts: This is a suitably atmospheric Gothic novel, set in a brooding house on the edge of a wood, where strange things have supposedly gone on. Just beyond the woods is the local asylum for the mentally ill, indigent and of course inconvenient wives.

When Briar Monroe’s aunt is taken ill and cannot meet her, Lord Danville, whose late wife was her aunt’s friend, offers her a place to stay at his family home, Thornby Manor, which she accepts, keen to keep the realities of her family’s accounts from her sister in London.

However, Lady Danville has recently died, the servants all dismissed and the rumours about the house and its inhabitants are not good. When Danville’s son Gabriel returns, determined to find out the truth about his mother’s last months, Briar finds herself drawn into the hunt for answers.

There’s a suitably weird Mrs Danvers-esque figure in the shape of Clara Marie, governess turned companion to Lady Danville, who now wears her clothes and acts as a cross between Lady of the house and housekeeper, as well as its spymaster, watching the servants and guests.

Gabriel has his mother’s journal, full of strange fears of being followed by a man in a green hat, he was not permitted to see her before she died, and his grief has him imagining terrible things.

Mental illness is handled sensitively, certainly more so than in the period the characters inhabit, where just being a bit different could see you locked away in the asylum. Briar’s doctor father was interested in psychiatry, and shared his passion with his daughter. She would have liked to follow in his footsteps, but that path was not permitted to her.

There’s a lot of tragedy here, Briar has recently lost both her parents, and Lady Danville’s passing still troubles the house and the residents. In striving to protect his wife’s privacy, Lord Danville has caused all sorts of nasty rumours to develop, and Briar must help Gabriel sort the truth from the rest so he can mourn his mother and be reconciled with his father.

Fascinating, sad, moving and a bit creepy, Thornby Manor must now give up its secrets.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: Perotine – Dreena Collins

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Abandoned, faithful – and on trial for heresy.

On a bleak autumn morning in 1555, Protestant Perotine wakes to find her husband packed to leave.

Catholicism has returned to Guernsey, and, fearing for his life, he abandons Perotine, her sister and mother to face increasing hostility alone.

The three women endure a challenging winter of rain, isolation, and poverty – until a dramatic series of events draws unwanted attention. When a local woman asks Perotine to hide stolen goods, what
begins as a trial for theft spirals into accusations of heresy.

Secluded, steadfast, and terrified, the women face their plight with fortitude and prayers. Together.

But Perotine Massey holds a terrible secret. One that could bring a reprieve, or a fate worse than death.
And she’ll do anything to keep that secret safe.

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Author Bio –
Dreena Collins is a multi-genre author. Her short fiction has been listed and placed in numerous writing competitions, such as The Bridport Prize and the Bath Flash Fiction Award. She is also the author of a suspense novel, And Then She Fell.

As Jane Harvey, Dreena writes commercially successful, feel-good fiction: The Hummingbird House series. Books one and two of the series both won the Eyelands International Awards, Published
Novel of the Year (2021 and 2022).

‘Perotine’ is Dreena’s first full-length work of historical fiction, and a labour of love, retelling the powerful story of the Guernsey Martyrs of 1556. Shortlisted in the Flash 500 Novel Opening Competition, the manuscript was also a top ten finalist in the Marlowe and Christie prize.

She lives in Jersey with her spouse, a teenage son, and a grumpy white dog, where she also works as the Project Manager for a local charity.

Instagram.com/dreenawriting
Facebook.com/dreenawriting
Bluesky: @dreenawriting.co.uk

My thoughts: I didn’t know about the tragic story of the Guernsey Martyrs, despite they’re being Protestants and having been raised in the Church of England – my CofE school never mentioned them, which is strange, as they loved stories like this.

It is really sad, the three women, mother Catherine and her daughters Guilleman and Perotine are punished by their community for not converting to Catholicism like their neighbours under the auspices of Mary I. It was a terrible time of religious persecution that saw maybe 300 executed for their “crime”.

Guernsey isn’t a very big place and probably was barely thought about, but even there, religion caused tragedy. Perotine and her family are victims of cruelty and ignorance. Whether they knew they were supposed to attend the Catholic Mass or not, as they were poor and uneducated and presumably didn’t understand it was a legal requirement.

Their death scene is genuinely shocking, all three burning alive after the rope that should have hung them broke, the author recreates that terrible scene with empathy.

A moving and fascinating account of the lives and deaths of three innocent women forgotten to history.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: No More Tomorrows – Olivia Lockhart & Hal Lambert

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Two eras. One aching heart.

1917 – At Cambridge University, American scholar Harry Turchin never expects to lose himself to desire. But Annie Mackenzie—soft-spoken, grieving, and luminous—claims his heart from their very first kiss. Their love is swift, fierce, and intoxicating. Married just days before Harry is sent to war, their passion is ripped apart when the trenches claim everything he knows, and Harry is thrown into a future that should not exist.

1967 – The free-spirited sixties are alive with rhythm, rebellion, and possibility. Harry awakens to a world he doesn’t recognise—and to Annalise Taylor, as bold and captivating as the era itself.
Brilliant, independent, and achingly alive, she rouses a desire he thought belonged solely to the past.

Caught between the love he was ripped away from and the passion he cannot resist, Harry is torn between two women, two lives, and two versions of forever. Because time will not bend twice … Or
will it?

Sweeping from the blood-soaked battlefields of World War One to the fevered nights of the swinging sixties, No More Tomorrows is a sensual time-slip romance about desire, devotion, and the
devastating power of love that refuses to be bound by time.

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Olivia Lockhart (Livvie to her friends) is an English author who can’t quite decide
if she wants to write contemporary romance, historical romance, or paranormal romance. So she writes them all, because it HAS to be romance!

She loves to write about the underdog, the one who got away, the bits of love stories we can all relate to.

When not writing she can be found drinking wine, cuddling with her beloved pooch, or with her head in a book.

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Giveaway to Win a signed copy of No More Tomorrows (Open to UK only)

My thoughts: When Harry wakes up in a field in France in 1967, despite having been on the battlefield in 1918, he’s utterly bewildered. He’s horrified by the fact his sweet wife, Annie, won’t have known what happened to him and that fifty years have passed.

Nursed back to health by a kindly French couple, he then makes his way back to England, hoping to find a trace of his family. Instead he meets physics student Annalise, who takes him in and helps him get sorted out. She believes his story and wants to help him, even as she falls for him.

It’s a bittersweet love affair, Harry determines that he must live in the present, not worry about what might have been. But Annalise fears he is forever comparing her with his lost love and really longs for the life he never got to live.

I really liked Harry and Annalise, and their lovely dog, who went from bomb detection to spoilt pet in one time travelling trip.

The story was really lovely and sad, Harry has been ripped from his life and thrust into a world he doesn’t recognise – the huge changes from 1918 to 1967 are a shock, and he initially struggles to adjust. But he does and it’s Annalise who then struggles to accept his love.

I also liked Annalise – she was very different and modern, perhaps even more so than most in the 60s, not believing in marriage and wanting to work for NASA. She’s clever and wants more from life than the traditional, and is determined to achieve even as her fellow (male) students denigrate her and mock the idea of female Cambridge students.

Their relationship might not be conventional, but it means a lot to both of them, even as something incredible happens that might tip their lives upside down forever. Have a tissue handy if you’re a crier, this one has its weepy moments.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam box. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or
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Blog Tour: Operation Berlin – Michael Ridpath

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In a city rebuilding from war, truth can be the most dangerous weapon of all.

Berlin, 1930.
Historian Archie Laverick, scarred mentally and physically by the Great War, travels to Berlin to research a famed Prussian general. His quiet study is shattered when he crosses paths with Esme Carmichael, a spirited young American intent on making her name as a foreign correspondent. When a shooting at a Saxon castle leaves a young Jewish woman accused of murder, Archie and Esme are drawn into a perilous hunt for the truth.

Their investigation cuts through the glittering façades and lingering scars of a nation still reeling from war – where resentment simmers, political alliances shift, and the first shadows of a new conflict fall across Europe. Amid whispers of blackmail and betrayal, the pair must navigate intrigue and danger to unmask a killer hiding in plain sight.

A tense, atmospheric mystery set in a world between wars – perfect for fans of Philip Kerr’s Berlin Trilogy, Robert Harris’s Fatherland, and Alan Furst’s spy novels.

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Michael Ridpath is the bestselling author of over 20 crime novels and thrillers. His first novel, after a career in finance, was Free to Trade, a No 2 bestseller about the murky world of bond trading which was translated into over thirty languages. He is currently writing the Foreign Correspondent series of murder mysteries set in the capitals of Europe in the 1930s. He splits his time between London and
Massachusetts.

Facebook: @michaelridpathauthor
Instagram: @michaelridpathauthor
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Bookbub profile: @MichaelRidpath

My thoughts: I once wrote a very boring essay about the Weimar Republic of Germany between the wars, I am very glad to say this book was much better than my essay.

Sir Archie Laverick is in Berlin researching a general from the Napoleonic wars, the assistant he thought he was taking has bailed on him, but his cousin, on the ground in Germany, has found him a new one in the form of wannabe journalist, American Esme Carmichael. She’s enthusiastic and energetic, but Archie worries she might be a bit too much. Luckily they do get along and after she looks after him when he has a spell of shell shock, they bond.

When Esme’s friend is killed while weekending at a German baron’s home, and a young Austrian woman is arrested, Esme thinks the police have it wrong. She asks Archie to help her find the real killer.

But as the duo look into the case, Esme is threatened and it becomes apparent there’s more to the situation than a jealous lover.

This is a really interesting book, with a strong sense of historical time and place, interesting characters and an intriguing case at its centre.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: Sacrilege – Keith Moray

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A nun is found dead.

A priest is horribly attacked.

An evil older than sin is loose in Yorkshire…

Marske, 1361. Sir Ralph de Mandeville with his assistants Peter and Merek have recently come from Reeth to hold a court session in Marske but are pulled away at the news of a most heinous crime having been discovered further down the River Swale.

A boat has been found, floating down the river. Inside is a truly horrifying scene – the body of a nun, her wrists cut and her hands fixed in the sign of benediction… As Ralph uses his astute skills of inspection, his mind asks a most difficult question – is this self-murder or murder most foul? Were her last moments spent in benediction prayer… or malediction warning?

With both Marrick Priory and Easby Abbey within a stone’s throw of Marske, it appears something is not quite right in the house of God…

When the body of a priest is found mutilated as if by a wild animal, the villagers fear the nun’s body has opened the gates and let loose a monster from Hell… but Ralph starts to wonder if something much more human is at the root of these evils.

As he follows the grim clues, he fears he knows where this miserable sacrilegious journey will end.

The question is, can he catch the murderer and prevent more grisly deaths – his own included?

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I was born in St Andrews and studied medicine at the University of Dundee in Scotland. I lived and worked in Wakefield in Yorkshire for 40 years, within arrow-shot of the ruins of a medieval castle, the base for a series of historical novels.

I am a retired GP, medical journalist and novelist, writing in several genres. As Keith Moray I write historical crime fiction in the medieval era and in ancient Egypt, The Inspector Torquil McKinnon crime novels set on the Outer Hebridean island of West Uist, and as Clay More I write westerns.
Curiously, my medical background finds its way into most of my fiction writing.

In my spare time I enjoy the movies, theatre and making bread. I play golf and I run at carthorse speed. As a frustrated actor I have found occasional solace as a supporting artist, but enough said about that!

I now live in Stratford-upon with my wife Rachel and whichever of our children and grandchildren who happen to pop in.

Social Media Links –
Facebook: @KeithMorayAuthor
Twitter: @KeithMorayTales
Instagram: @souterkeith
Newsletter
Bookbub profile: @dr_keithsouter

My thoughts: This was very good, a medieval murder mystery with the detectives in the form of the justice of the peace, Sir Ralph de Mandeville and his assistants, scribe Peter, and former archer Merek.

Carrying out the king’s work in Yorkshire, they become involved when the body of a young nun is found drifting in a boat on the river Swale. Did she kill herself or was she murdered? When the body of the parish priest is also found brutalised, Ralph suspects something rather nasty is going on. And when he and his assistants are attacked, he knows there’s something seriously wrong in the area.

As the case unfolds, Ralph, Peter and Merek are in danger too, they’re close to an answer and the killer wants them to stop looking. But they’re tougher than anyone realises and Ralph won’t give in to threats.

This is an engaging, clever and enjoyable read, I liked Ralph and his colleagues, they’re intelligent and thorough investigators, even with the limited knowledge of their age, willing to carry out thorough investigations, acting not only as detectives but also carrying out the roles that in modern cases would be scene of crime, and medical examiner.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: I Am You – Victoria Redel

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A mesmerising historical novel, I Am You is a meditation on gender, an ode to artistic creation, and an unforgettable love story that reimagines the life of renowned painter Maria van Oosterwijck during the Dutch Golden Age.

At eight years old, Gerta Pieters is forced to disguise herself as a boy and sent to work for a genteel family. When their daughter Maria sees through Gerta’s ruse, she insists Gerta accompany her to Amsterdam and help her enter the elite, maledominated art world.

While Maria rises in the ranks of society as a painting prodigy, Gerta makes herself invaluable in every way: confidante, muse, lover. But as Gerta steps into her own talents, their relationship fractures into a complex web of obsession and rivalry, until the secrets they keep threaten to unravel everything.

Victoria Redel is a first-generation American poet and novelist. Her work has been widely anthologized, awarded, and translated in ten languages. Her debut novel, Loverboy (2001) was adapted for feature film directed by Kevin Bacon. Redel’s short stories, poetry and essays have appeared in Granta, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Bomb, One Story, Salmagundi, O and NOON. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, The National Endowment forthe Arts and the Fine Arts Work Center. Victoria is a professor in the graduate and undergraduate Creative Writing programs at Sarah Lawrence College.

My thoughts: I actually found this a very sad book in many ways, Gerta is often unhappy and mistreated by her mistress Maria, who mocks her in public and is hot and cold with her in private.

The two women live a strange life, Maria is feted by society for her artworks but the men of the art world are dismissive of her talent, because she’s not a man, while also hoping to make her their wife or mistress. 

She and Gerta become a couple, but must keep it secret from everyone. And as Gerta learns to paint and assist Maria, who suffers from what I think is Parkinson’s, unable to use her hands unless the tremors she suffers become apparent, their relationship changes.

Gerta narrates the story, and we see her pain and misery first hand. From being forced to dress and behave like a boy, to being raped by Maria’s horrible nephew. She finds little love in her life, often rejected by Maria, who toys with her and ultimately she is forced to make a decision that will affect them both.

Powerful, compelling and fascinating, this story of women in a man’s world, creative and cruel (Maria) and incredibly loving (Greta) is moving and intriguing, recreating a vanished world in Amsterdam.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

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BBNYA Blog Tour: Miss Bennet’s Dragon – M. Verant

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Miss Bennet’s Dragon is the 10th place BBNYA 2025 finalist!
About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 (17 in 2025) finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official.

War threatens England, but Elizabeth Bennet’s battles are closer to home. She’s managing the family estate for her ailing father. Insufferable gentlemen keep bursting in to propose marriage. And most dangerous of all, she’s hiding a forbidden skill. Elizabeth can speak to draca, the small, fire-breathing dragons kept by gentry as frivolous status symbols.

When Napoleon’s spies attempt to steal draca, the distant war threatens even cozy Hertfordshire. Elizabeth seeks the aid of Mr. Darcy, the proud man whose proposal she once scorned. Amid the breathtaking halls of Pemberley, she discovers the truth: she is not the first woman to speak with draca. But with her secret revealed, the dark history of Pemberley tears her and Mr. Darcy apart.

One hope remains: her dangerous affinity to draca. But does she dare to trust legends and lost songs? And when a terrible betrayal threatens the man she loves, does she have a choice?

Miss Bennet’s Dragon is the first book in the award-winning Jane Austen Fantasy trilogy. For fans of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and of course Jane Austen.

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Goodreads The Story Graph

M. Verant writes noblebright fantasy and sci-fi that’s exciting, romantic, and celebrates diversity and empowerment. His latest work is Emma’s Dragon, book 2 in the award-winning Jane Austen Fantasy series. Dragons of the Great Wyves, book 3 of the trilogy, is next, followed by Tiger Seed, a contemporary fantasy rooted in ancient Indus history. He collects Jane Austen paraphernalia and two-legged dragons while dodging wild turkeys in the San Francisco Bay Area. Follow him on Bluesky @mverant.com.

My thoughts: This was a lot of fun, it’s Pride & Prejudice & Dragons (not Zombies) and since I enjoy both the work of Miss Austen and dragons, right up my street, or should I say, in my library!

Lizzy Bennet discovers she can communicate with the small forms of draca that live in England, no true dragons exist, or so she believes (maybe St George put them off?) but married couples of her social class can bond with a variety of the smaller types, on their wedding night. A lot of the lore is shrouded in mystery, the church rather disapproves and not everyone can make it happen (like Mr Collins and poor Charlotte).

Mr & Mrs Bennet have a firedrake, a dog sized draca that Mrs B is somewhat afraid of, but Lizzy, and to some extent her sisters, are not. Which is handy when Lizzy starts to realise she can talk to them, and some of them talk back.

Most of the plot is familiar to fans of P&P but there are changes, the war against Napoleon is more important to this version than the original, and indeed a certain Arthur Wellesley shows up, turns out he and Darcy are old friends. There’s also a rather horrible change in one of the Bennet sisters, but Lizzy is still a remarkable, funny, intelligent heroine.

I really enjoyed this and now I’m off to read book two, which features a Miss Emma Woodhouse….

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: First of December – Karen Jennings

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On the 1st December 1838, all slaves were finally freed on South Africa, four years after slavery had officially been abolished.

First of December follows three people during the week of November 1838: James and Caroline Kendrick, and an unnamed runaway slave making her way to Cape Town along the coast, desperate to reach it by midnight on the 31st November.

Caroline is trapped in an unhappy marriage, in a place she hates, always longing to go home; bored, lonely, without purpose or any sense of belonging. James is forever on the move, desperate for success after a lifetime of failure and humiliation, seeing South Africa as his last great hope, preparing for the climax of his work, a bank to serve the city. Each resents the other, feeling trapped and unloved, yet with a wish for it all to change.

Meanwhile the slave-apprentice, fearful of being caught before the deadline, meets others living on the coast, at the edge of society, yet always remaining alone, without any clear idea of what to expect in Cape Town.

My thoughts: This is a slender book that packs some serious thought-provoking heft. As the true freedom for South Africa’s slaves approaches, the British settlers fuss and worry about whether they will be murdered in their beds (maybe you should have treated your slaves better) when the 1st of December arrives. 

Caroline is miserable, her husband never comes anywhere near her after her battle with typhus, she doesn’t really have any friends and she misses her family back home. Lonely and frustrated, she relies on Leah, her maid, who she thinks will stay with her once she is free.

Caroline’s husband James is worrying about his standing, he doesn’t think much about his wife and her feelings, scared that his business plans will all fall apart, that his bank will fail and he will be forced to return to England in disgrace. He’s broke and keeping it hidden is causing terrible stress.

The unnamed slave heading for the city, looking for a new start, a fresh page, the safety of anonymity. She’s terrified as she travels alone through potentially dangerous places, unsure of what she will find in the city, but certain anything has to be better than where she’s left.

All three characters stand on the cusp of huge changes, in their personal lives, in their society and country. The British like James and Caroline might have to adjust to life without staff, or at least to paying their servants.

But the freed slaves, embodied by the Everygirl making her way to the city, face uncertainty too. Will they be able to find paid employment, will they be able to find safe places to live, feed their families, reunite with their families who have been sent elsewhere?

Thoughtful and quietly moving, the shift comes quietly with the new day, not with the violence the military believes they will have to quell, but with a slow understanding that things will be, must be, different from now on.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.