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Crow Moon by Suzie Aspley#Extract #Giveaway #AMarthaStrangewaysInvestigationBook1

  I am delighted to introduce the first in a new series by debut writer, Suzie Aspley . The atmospheric thriller, Crow Moon was published by Orenda on March 14th. Today I have an extract for you to read and the chance to win a print copy of Crow Moon . Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post. When the crow moon rises, the darkness is unleashed… Martha Strangeways is struggling to find purpose in her life, after giving up her career as an investigative reporter when her young twins died in a house fire. Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, her life changes when she stumbles across the body of a missing teenager – a tragedy that turns even more sinister when a poem about crows is discovered inked onto his back... When another teenager goes missing in the remote landscape, Martha is drawn into the investigation, teaming up with DI Derek Summers, as malevolent rumours begin to spread and paranoia grows. As darkness descends on the village of Strathbran, it soon becomes

Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale

In Notes from an Exhibition, we are presented with Rachel Kelly, a renowned artist and her complicated family. Each of the chapters begins with notes from a retrospective on her work which highlights an object or painting from her life and relevant to the chapter. We become like detectives, piecing together their story as the narrative moves back and forward through time. We see the effect that Rachel's bi-polar condition had on her personally and the people around her. I thought that this was a very clever way of structuring the story and so illuminating.

    As the narrative progresses, we learn that Rachel has a mysterious past which her husband knew nothing about. All her family have their own story which is gradually revealed. We are given their perspectives at different times and this makes for a richness and depth which draws you into the book and which keeps you reading. It feels right that it is set in Penzance, just the place that someone like Rachel would have settled.

    After the end of the book, I found the author's notes on links between the story and people in  his life very interesting. The novel weaves together several issues : the artistic process, mental illness, parenthood, sexuality, religion and all of them emerge from the interactions between the characters, threaded throughout the story. I have not read anything by Patrick Gale before but realise that that has been my loss.

In short: a haunting but uplifting look at family dynamics. 
 

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