When Bella Black arrives in a sleepy Wiltshire village, it seems like the perfect place for a new start: a lovely home, exciting job and an attractive colleague or two to take her mind off her recent divorce.
When people start disappearing, she realises she holds the key to a mystery bigger than she could have ever imagined.
Who is really pulling the strings at the secretive OAK Institute?
Can anyone be trusted?
Will Bella make the right choices before its too late?
My review
There’s a lot going on in this exciting debut novel. It’s a combination of mystery, new starts, social commentary, comedy and self-development. The author handles these various strands skilfully and weaves a rich story with them.
Bella is a likeable, interesting character, and she’s far from being the only one. The fortunately/unfortunately-named (depending on your politics!) Maggie Thatcher is certainly one to watch in the book.
The setting and atmosphere is well portrayed, with the calm and wholesomeness of rural living counterbalanced by the definite hint of intrigue and menace surrounding the Institute.
Lots to savour in this easy-to-ready, enjoyable novel.
Purchase Links
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3fhl9Cd
bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/333Ovz2
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/35NWnGu
Author bio
Heather Barnett gained a degree in English and French from the University of Leeds and has written ever since: from copywriting to stand-up comedy and sketches. She is now focusing on writing novels. Heather’s influences span Jane Austen and Douglas Adams at one end of the alphabet through to PG Wodehouse at the other.
Heather’s debut novel, Acts of Kindness, is an uplifting, light-hearted mystery. It was inspired by witnessing commuters helping a woman who’d fallen down the stairs at Paddington station; intermingled with wondering what was behind some grand stone gateposts that she used to drive past in Wiltshire.
Her second novel, Lord Seeks Wife, is a romantic comedy and will be published summer 2021.
Aside from writing, Heather’s interests are classic literature, cats and comedy.
Heather is head of marketing at an agency near Oxford and lives by the river Kennet in Berkshire.
For more information on Heather and her books, please visit her website: www.heatherbarnettauthor.com or join the discussion on Twitter @WritesHeather.
Social Media Links –
Twitter: @WritesHeather
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writesheather/
Serpentine Books: www.serpentinebooks.com Twitter: @SerpentineBooks