Published
by The Book Guild Ltd,
28 August 2018.
ISBN: 978-1912575-183 (PB)
28 August 2018.
ISBN: 978-1912575-183 (PB)
WW1 has broken
lives and families and the Frobishers of
Frobisher Hall, Bodmin are no exception. This novel starts with the
return, after the end of the war, of blinded and traumatised Captain Harry
Frobisher, accompanied by his batman, to the ancestral home in Cornwall and a
reunion with his younger brother, William.
The
stately home was the setting for the past double murder of Harry’s parents, in
mysterious circumstances. Now, the corpse of a young and beautiful red haired woman,
formerly private secretary to the late Lord & Lady Frobisher and who,
convicted of slaying them and committed to a lunatic asylum, is discovered,
brutally killed, on moorland. The local constabulary
prevails on Scotland Yard, in the shape of Police Inspector Edwards, to
investigate and he arrives post haste from London.
The
author is master of descriptive narrative.
The rambling, creepy house, the strained relationship between the two
siblings now that Harry is back to lay claim to his inheritance, the sighting
of a ghostly apparition bearing a strong resemblance to the dead secretary, the
strange behaviour of supporting characters all of whom seem to have an agenda
of their own, and the unexpected twists and turns makes for a suspenseful and
compelling, gothic-style read. A promising debut.
------
Reviewer: Serena
Fairfax
Clive Tuckett lives in Ringwood,
Hants and has spent the past 25 years working in banking and financial services
and also holds a BA (Hons) in History. Before embarking on a career in the
financial services, Clive served in the Royal Air Force as a Policeman and
spent the majority of his time guarding nuclear weapons during the Cold War
when tensions between NATO and the Soviet Union were at their highest. As a
boy, Clive's family spent several years living in Bodmin before moving to
London.
Serena Fairfax spent her childhood in India,
qualified as a lawyer in England and practised in London for many years. She
began writing by contributing feature articles to legal periodicals then turned her hand to fiction. Having
published nine novels all, bar one, hardwired with a romantic theme, she has
also written short stories and accounts of her explorations off the beaten
track that feature on her blog. A tenth, distinctly unromantic, novel is a work
in progress. Thrillers, crime and mystery narratives, collecting old masks and
singing are a few of her favourite things.
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