Tombland by C J Samson

Shardlake is back in all his stubborn determination, getting himself into all sorts of trouble during the Norfolk uprisings of 1549. Our doughty lawyer is this time working on behalf of the 15-year-old Lady Elizabeth, whose distant relative, Norfolk landowner John Boleyn is accused of the brutal murder of his wife. Shardlake must investigate his guilt, but the curious fact is that Edith Boleyn disappeared nine years ago, and has been declared dead. 

In the course of his investigations, Shardlake makes himself unpopular with the local Assizes, butts heads with the Norfolk gentry, then falls foul of Robert Kett, leader of the uprisings and finds himself, his friend Barack and assistant Nicholas trapped in the rebel camp.  This is an important moment in history, when ordinary people had had enough of the rich landowners, and half the country rose up, in the midst of a brutal war against Scotland. C J Samson tells it well, and creates a convincing camp atmosphere. 

Shardlake is a changed man since his heyday of working for Thomas Cromwell, although still the architect of his own doom most of the time.  Perhaps that’s why we like him. That and his struggles against the prejudice heaped on him because of his painful ‘hunchback’ condition. It’s a good long story, with interesting plotting and lots of historical detail. But if you’ve never read any Shardlake, then start at the beginning with Dissolution.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Ever feel the need to get away from it all? I’ve lived in a big city for years, but after reading this, I had such a hankering for big open spaces. Set in the 1970’s, this is a story of wild country, Alaska style. And it’s not just the scenery that’s dramatic. Kristin Hannah manages to compress a number of the issues of the day into the pressure-cooker of family life in the brutal environment of this untamed state, where to make one mistake is dangerous, to make two is fatal. 

Domestic violence, the powerlessness of women, Vietnam, unplanned pregnancy, all weave in and out of the story, a coming of age tale about Lenora Allbright, the only child of troubled parents Cora and Ernt. The characters themselves have a pretty tough time of it, but the description of place is so complete, from snowy mountainsides, to crossing frozen lakes, fishing for salmon, to fending off bears and wolves. There is no electricity, no running water, no tv or phones – just the ham-radio to communicate with, the vast starry sky and northern lights. 

You may not envy Leni her outhouse bathroom, but there is something appealing about the pioneer spirit of all that majestic scenery coupled with a simple way of life: survival, putting away enough food for winter. For a thirteen-year-old, Leni spends a great deal of her time salting, shelling, skinning, alongside everybody else in their tiny remote cluster of homesteads. Meanwhile trouble is brewing in the form of her dad’s post-Vietnam trauma, which builds throughout the book, and there is a touch of the Romeo and Juliet about her friendship with Matthew, from the rival Walker clan. A grim winter is definitely coming.

Once upon a river by Diane Setterfield

In the Swan public house, at Radcot on the banks of the Thames, storytelling is a much-prized gift during the long winter. When one night, a stranger bursts in, with a small drowned girl in his arms, a tragic tale begins. But when the girl subsequently wakes and returns to the living, this is a story like no other: a miracle. What’s more the girl is mute and cannot explain her origins, which leaves an empty space to fill with other people’s truths. 

The mystery child is claimed by a local couple to be their daughter who was kidnapped several years ago, but she could also be the child of a fallen woman who drowned herself two days before; whose grandfather is desperately seeking her. A tug of war begins, fuelled by the endlessly evolving stories from the Swan.

This is a charming story, the writing is rich, at times almost poetic, the personalities in the Swan reminded me of a Robert Hardy tale. The characteristics, beauty and treachery of the Thames when it was primarily a working river, are carefully explored. The stranger turns out to be a photographer recording the Thames environments, and we get an intriguing look into early photography. The local midwife, Rita, is a strong portrait of a woman working under difficult circumstances and wary of relinquishing any of her hard-fought independence. As the person who pronounced the child dead at first, her reputation is at stake, but she still seeks a rational explanation, while the stories told at the Swan get ever more fanciful. Is the child somebody’s lost daughter or a fairy sprite? After all she did appear on the longest night, the winter solstice…

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood

Light but intriguing story. Susan Green is trying to do what is necessary after the death of her mother, while her brother Edward, who has always been feckless, is trying to thwart her. Susan is a strangely cool person emotionally, and we quickly get the feeling she doesn’t see life the way most of us do (echoes of Eleanor Oliphant here). She lives alone, has little social life, and cannot understand why her fastidiousness gets on other people’s nerves. It also becomes clear as the novel progresses that the family balance is not what Susan has always assumed it to be. She’s a strong woman, never relying on others to do what she can herself, and she sets off to tackle the problems thrown up by her bereavement in her own indomitable way. But, despite her best efforts to bat them away, friendship and acceptance may be waiting in the wings. Not sure why it’s called The Cactus, except that she owns some, and is rather a prickly person...

The conviction of Cora Burns by Carolyn Kirby

Birmingham 1885. Cora is a young woman with a troubled past, born in gaol, abandoned by her mother and raised in the workhouse, the cards are firmly stacked against her. As Cora struggles to make a future for herself, she is troubled by destructive memories and desperately searches for her childhood friend Alice, to help unravel her past. Approached by scientist Thomas Jerwood and offered work as Between-maid, she grudgingly accepts. But what seems like an opportunity may have a sinister outcome.

I enjoyed the gothic tang of this book. Cora is a dynamic character, angry, violent and destructive, forcing her way through life like a Victorian coal-barge, and most times her own worst enemy. We wince for her, are rooting for her, fearful for her and at times shocked and troubled by the viciousness of her character. The author holds nothing back. This was a time when scientists were beginning to explore the idea of nature versus nurture – could you tell a criminal mind by the size and shape of the skull, or did environment have something to do with our future selves. We range back and forth through time, to keep the pace going and arrive eventually at some uncomfortable revelations. Is there a future at all for Cora?