Month: September 2023

Annette’s Devon Bookshelf

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BETRAYAL by Lesley Pearce ‘We’ve all been betrayed at some point,’ says Lesley. We’re having coffee overlooking Meadfoot Beach near her home in Torbay. In such an idyllic setting it feels incongruous to be discussing predatory people, violence, and how trust can be blown to smithereens. This is Lesley at her best. It’s all in seamless context, a story that is gripping and with poignant reflection on the nature of relationships. I asked how she developed the plot. ‘I met … Read more

Review: Utterly Dark And The Tides Of Time

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  Utterly Dark and the Tides of Time, the final instalment of Philip Reeve’s Utterly Dark trilogy, is everything we wanted it to be and more. The ‘more’ is provided by the time-shifting element, which adds rich layers of metaphysical reflection and emotional poignancy to the story and a Peter Pan-esque wistfulness for the approaching end of childhood and the transience of all things. The exploration of the nature of time is intricately woven in through the majestic omnipresence of … Read more