Untying the Knot by Linda Gillard

Untying the Knot by Linda Gillard
Buy Untying the Knot by Linda Gillard at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: General Fiction
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: Another great psychological story from Linda Gillard. We don't often mention price but this is great value and highly recommended.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 493KB	Date: August 2011
Publisher: Linda Gillard
External links: Author's website
ISBN:
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I've often wondered why it's not axiomatic that a man should stand by his woman – although perhaps it couldn't be set to music quite so easily – but Fay had failed to stand by her man. To make it worse, she was an army wife and they just don't desert – and Magnus was a hero. He'd been in bomb disposal and despite being blown up had briefed his number two about the bomb before he was taken off to hospital. He was good-looking, charismatic – and divorced. Fay knew that marrying Magnus had been a mistake – but she also admitted that the biggest mistake of all was divorcing him.

When we meet Fay and Magnus she's living in Glasgow and working as a textile artist. Magnus is living at Tullibardine House, the ruined 16th century tower house which he's restoring, way out on a Perthshire hillside. Their daughter Emily is about to get married to someone whom both Fay and Magnus believe she shouldn't be marrying – and for a reason which it's very difficult to explain. To cap it all, Magnus is also about to get married to the wrong person. Why? Well, you'll have to read the book to find that out.

You know that day when you need to take a break from it all? You need to relax and be just a little bit indulgent and get yourself back together. Well, that's what happened to me a couple of days ago – and then I discovered that Linda Gillard (one of my favourite authors) had published a new book on Kindle. So, £1.90 paid over to Amazon and the kettle on, and Untying the Knot was waiting for me before the kettle boiled. Yes, I know what you're thinking. You're not going to get much for £1.90. Well, that's where you're wrong and Linda has been kind enough to explain why she's gone down the epublishing road and how the finances work out. This isn't an author trying to shift a few because they're cheap – it's a first class author pricing her work so that it's going to be accessible to people who are no longer that keen on the prices that some of the major publishing houses demand.

Right – you understand that this is probably the best book bargain that you'll get all year? Good. I had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and evening for less than the cost of a glass of decent wine – and I've still got the book to read again, because that's one of the joys of Linda's books. You read them once to enjoy the story and then again to see how she did it. And if you're thinking that this is chicklit, think again.

Yes – there's a romance in there, but it's about how people cope when the situation they're in is intolerable, about what it's like to live with the knowledge that death – or the death of the person who is your life – is around the corner. Tragedy can happen to anyone, but there are some people who live permanently at the front of the queue. It's about the fact that there's an aftermath to all this – for the people we expect to keep us safe and their families. I found myself thinking about things which I'd never really considered before.

Have I convinced you? Good. Put the kettle on.

Whilst you're over at Amazon, you might like to pick up House of Silence and you'll still have change from £4. House of Silence is nothing like Untying the Knot – and that's another of the great things about Linda – she doesn't work to a formula, reproducing the same type of book in a slightly different way each time. You don't have to read them in order. You just need an afternoon and an evening and a good cup of coffee.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Untying the Knot by Linda Gillard at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.

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