REVIEWS Fiction

MEREDITH, ALONE

By Claire Alexander, Michael Joseph, £14.99 (ebook £7.99)

HHHHI

Spending life confined to your home is a scenario that has become more familiar over the past couple of years, but Meredith, Alone, the debut novel from Claire Alexander, was conceived before the pandemic.

The reader joins Meredith on day 1,214 of her self-imposed house arrest. She has her cat Fred, friend Sadie and a range of jigsaws to support her, but as more of the world starts to filter through the door of her Glasgow home, things start to change.

Flashbacks to her former life build up the context for her current situation. Meredith is a likeable heroine who you can’t help but root for and, while some of the subject matter is traumatic, this is ultimately a book about hope and the power of friendship.

A moving read.

MURDER BEFORE EVENSONG

By Reverend Richard Coles, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £16.99 (ebook £7.99)

HHHII

The ex-strictly star’s debut tale is set in a sleepy English village where rector Canon Daniel Clement, investigates the murder of a local, stabbed with secateurs. There are further murders, but the heart of this

book lies in Coles’ observations about the trials and tribulations of being a vicar; the diplomacy his churchman has to observe in handling spats among the community, the funny asides of parish life, and the wisdom he has so clearly gained in tending his flock.

Written with an insider’s knowledge, the book won’t look out of place on a beach this summer.