Forgive me father, for I am a killer ELIZABETH BUCHAN
THE WESTERN WIND by Samantha Harvey (Jonathan Cape £16.99)
SAMANTHA HARVEY’S past novels have appeared on literary long and shortlists — including the Man Booker — and have dealt with contemporary jealousy, friendship and illness.
But this is set in 1491, four days before Lent begins, and the isolated and backward Somerset village of Oakham has been shattered by the murder of Thomas Newman, a man of progressive views.
It falls to John Reve, the conscientious, traditional village priest, to piece together events.
As the accusatory, yearning and doubting parishioners appear in his confessional to air their thoughts, they mirror Reve’s own struggles.
In the end, the questions of faith and the purpose of humanity raised in this bold, impressive and lustrously written reimagining of a past world are as important as the solving of the crime.
IKE AND KAY by James MacManus (Duckworth £16.99)
THIS is the fascinating dramatisation of the true story of a secret love affair that contributed to the Allied D-Day and the push into Europe. Constantly exhausted and frequently at odds with the other generals, Eisenhower clung to Kay.
Reimagining the exhilaration, heartbreak and sacrifice of the pair, Ike And Kay is a deeply emotional read.
THE STRANGER by Kate Riordan (Michael Joseph £12.99)
POISED on the Cornish coastline, Penhallow Hall is home to the troubled Eleanor and her capricious mother, who are the butt of local gossip.
In 1940, a national war effort is under way and Eleanor and her mother are persuaded to take in land girls.
Reluctantly, they accept the glamorous Diana and the quieter, married Rose.
It does not take long for the girls to realise something is awry in the household — but they are contending with their own secrets.
Old tensions and new torments are brought fatally to the boil.
With excellent characters, including the chilling portrait of a damaged person inflicting damage in turn, the novel revels in the magical backdrop of Cornwall, with shades of du Maurier.