‘On the Edge’ by Jane Jesmond

Published by Verve Books,
26 October 2021.
ISBN: 978-0-85730816-0 (PBO)

Jen Shaw has had an unconventional upbringing. Her father is an explorer and climber and her mother a hippie. Jen and her brother were taught to climb as small children and went on to create a successful climbing business together, which they have recently sold. But although brought up with safety as paramount to climbing, Jen is a serious risk taker!

The book starts with Jen leaving rehab. After an accident in which one of her best friends loses his leg, Jen has turned to hard drugs as a way of coping with the guilt. Summoned by her brother she leaves rehab to return to the family home in Cornwall. Unable to face the family, she decides to spend the night in a local hotel. Jen then finds herself dangling from the nearby lighthouse wall on a rope that is fraying. Using all her skills she manages to climb to safety, but she knows she is under the influence of drugs. Was it something she took willingly? Or did someone try to kill her?

Jen attempts to settle into life back home and understand the money worries that her family is going through. She rekindles old friendships and tries to make sense of the people around her as well as discover who it was that tried to kill her and why. It turns out Cornwall isn’t a sleepy tourist destination but a place of secrets and danger.

This is an action pack, adrenalin filled fast-paced thriller that had me hooked from the start with additional follow up books planned. Jen is an interesting character with a lot of flaws, yet she is also engaging and ballsy. A great read.
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Reviewer: Christine Hammercott

Jane Jesmond was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne, although she was raised on Liverpool, and considers herself northern through and through.   On The Edge is Jane's debut novel and the first in a series featuring dynamic, daredevil protagonist Jen Shaw. Jane's family comes from Cornwall, and her lifelong love of the Cornish landscape and culture inspired the setting of On The Edge. Jane has spent the last thirty years living and working in France. She began writing steadily six or seven years ago and writes every morning in between staring out at the sea and making cups of tea.

http://jane-jesmond.com

Christine Hammacott lives near Southampton and runs her own design consultancy. She started her career working in publishing as a book designer and now creates covers for indie-authors. She writes page-turning fiction that deals with the psychological effects of crime. Her debut novel The Taste of Ash was published in 2015.To read a review of A Taste of Ash Click on the title

design@artofcomms.co.uk
website: www.christinehammacott.com
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