‘Summer lies bleeding’ by Nuala Casey

Published by Quercus,
7 August 2014.
ISBN: 9781782063506

After Mark’s sister Zoe died, his life fell apart, and he becomes obsessed with revenge on the man he blames ...

This slow-burn novel focuses on four vividly-realised characters. There’s Mark, the soldier’s son; Sebastian, the talented artist, whose wife, Yasmine, is about to open her own restaurant in Soho; academic Stella, becoming detatched from her partner, Paula, who’s desperate to have a baby; and Kerstin, a number-whizz city analyst whose obsessive-compulsive disorder is taking over her reality. Gradually as Yasmine’s opening day approaches, the characters are drawn together, and their memories of 7/7 remind us how vulnerable they are to an act of violence by a stranger. The sights, sounds, smells of London are described in sensuous prose, and the novel is elegantly plotted, with the connections between characters gradually becoming clear, and a neat Gaslight twist. It’s a story about a crime, rather than a crime novel – don’t expect police, forensics or classic action sequences.

Wonderfully-evoked characters draw you into an unusual novel which gathers inevitably to a gripping finish.

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Reviewer: Marsali Taylor

Nuala Casey was born in Stockton on Tees on 4^thFebruary 1979, the youngest of five children. She grew up in the countryside with eight acres of fields and woodland to play in as well as numerous dogs, cats, horses and donkeys.

Nuala graduated from Durham University in 2001 and moved to London to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter. However, her experiences living in Soho where she chronicled the comings and goings of the people around her, took her life in a different direction.

She went on to work as a copywriter and was awarded an MA in Creative Writing. Her debut novel Soho, 4am was published by Quercus in 2013 and was described by the Huffington Post as “the London Novel revived.” Urban living and the voices of the city continue to provide inspiration for her writing. Nuala’s latest novel, Summer Lies Bleeding, is out now (Quercus).

 http://www.nualacasey.com/

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh, and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland's scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland's distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's