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There's something obsessive about Jessica Hurly. When Sarah Fortune encounters her on a cold, dark London morning, she's distraught because the man who fills all her thoughts has rejected her and it seems that her mother wants nothing to do with her. Jess is a talented chef but she's short of work – the occasion when she emptied a tureen of soup over the host at a dinner party did not enhance her reputation even if all the other guests were secretly delighted. Sarah senses her vulnerability, but it's Jess who organises the let of one of her mother's cottages in the sea-side seaside town where she grew up so that Sarah can have a long break from the flat where she still smells a recent fire.
Sarah is Jessica's opposite. She's a lawyer by profession and a professional mistress by choice - sure of herself and her place in the world. She goes to Pennyvale in search of her own dream – the cottage with roses round the door and the sound of the sea – but there's also the instinct of the stalwart friend to see if there's any way that Jess could be welcomed back into the local community.
Crime novels can be formulaic. It takes a lot to lift the average 'dead body found and criminal tracked down by misunderstood policeman/intelligent member of the public' above the norm and Frances Fyfield has taken a different approach. There isn't even a certainty of there being a death, but there is obviously a lot that's wrong in Jessica Hurley's life and in the village of Pennyvale. There's nothing extreme about it though – they're the type of circumstances that you'll find in any village. It's normal – but not quite right.
Sarah Fortune is a brilliant creation and I really warmed to her. It would be easy to call her the tart with a heart of gold, but she's more than that. There's courage, common sense and pragmatism. At the other end of the scale , I began by disliking Jessica's mother, but sympathy gradually crept in.
I'm not going to tell you any more about the plot – even the cover told me more than I really wanted to know before I started reading – just open the book, settle down and enjoy. I doubt that you'll be disappointed.
My thanks to the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If this book appeals then you might also enjoy [[Fear in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope]] and [[The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny]]. We've also enjoyed [[A Painted Smile by Frances Fyfield]].
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