book reviews , different studio guests each week. Join us every Thursday between 12 and 1pm on Radio Scilly 107.9fm or log on to radioscilly.com.

Missed any programmes? See below for list of guests, books and other details discussed.

Monday 22 October 2012

Debby Fowler - Intensive Care

review by Ro Bennett for recorded show on 25th Oct 2012 This is the third book I have read by Debby Fowler. I enjoyed the other two and this one is just as good. It’s actually the second book in the series, the first being Letting Go. Once again it is set in St Ives and Zennor, which I really enjoy as I can imagine myself there as she mentions different places I am familiar with. It’s like catching up with old friends and their news. Felicity has a commission to illustrate a locally written children’s book and during her sketching expeditions around St Ives she encounters a small boy. His image haunts her - she is sure she knows him from somewhere. He is with a man who looks too old to be his father and appears to be very unhappy. After a frantic dash to Oxford to look at some old school photos from her teaching days she has him placed. So this is one thread of the plot which unfolds. Meanwhile Inspector Penrose is trying to solve a murder case - the body of young woman is found in the River Fal off Malpas in Truro. Consequently he is under a lot of pressure at work but also at home. His daughter Carly has been diagnosed with cancer and his relationship with his wife Barbara is also strained as she feels that his work is taking precedence at a time when he should be supporting and spending time with Carly. On top of this, the unexpected arrival of Felicity’s daughter is thrown into the mix. Mel, who is very ambitious, has given up her high powered career as a lawyer which is completely out of character. She doesn’t want to discuss it with her mother. Her relationship with her mother is brittle and so the atmosphere in the tiny cottage is strained at times. There is hardly room for Mel’s suitcase, let alone her ego and the building tension between mother and daughter forces them to face some uncomfortable truths. The book reveals a complicated tangle of wrecked lives - bringing Felicity to face up to another tragedy in her past. The book is gripping and interesting, and has an interesting twist. A really enjoyable read.

No comments: