The Widow's Secret (Tales from Goswell) - Katharine Swartz

Katharine Swartz’s The Widow’s Secret is the latest in her Tales from Goswell series. Abigail Fenton’s husband James is a ship owner in the 1760s, and they live a comfortable life until the tobacco which is a mainstay of James’ business is all sold to larger companies than his.  Looking for other cargo he makes a fateful decision – to transport slaves.  Abigail is uncomfortable about this, and her life becomes more complicated when James gives her an African child as a present.  A child he expects to be treated as lower than a servant but whom childless Abigail comes to love as a daughter to the consternation and horror of her household staff, family and peers.  Then James sets off on a year-long voyage – and doesn’t come home.  

In 2020, when marine archaeologist Rachel Gardener is summoned to Cumbria to investigate a wreck, a find from the ship makes her suspect the wreck was a slave ship. But why would it be there?  As she investigates, and tries to ignore her crumbling marriage, unfolding events mean she can no longer ignore her estranged mother.  And she must face the secret her mother has been keeping for 30 years.

Katherine Swartz writes engaging stories with characters you really connect with and with plenty of twists and turns. I was intrigued all the way through both timelines by what would happen next.  I’m not sure I’m quite convinced by the way things play out with both Rachel’s marriage and her mother, but both elements worked well for the book.  That said, the links with Abigail and Adelaide are wonderfully told and the Wesley elements work really well.  The descriptions of the slave trade are horrifying and both Abigail and James’ struggles with their involvement are well written and believable.  I highly recommend this book. 

9781782642817, Lion Fiction, Published June 2020 (UK).

For transparency, I was sent the manuscript of this book for review, but I was not required to write a favourable review. All views herein are my own.

Man of Glass - Andrea Sarginson

When Andrea Sarginson began writing Man of Glass, she couldn’t have imagined that 671 years after the setting of her story today’s events worldwide would be so directly connecting the reader to many elements of the story of apprentice glazier Amalric and his family and community.

Amalric’s village has so far escaped the ravages of the Black Death, then known as ‘the pestilence’, but Amalric fears its arrival.  When his father Elias is summoned to Meaux Abbey to discuss the installation of new stained glass windows there it seems like a grand opportunity, but hopes of a bright future become a desperate struggle for survival – and not just from the plague. 

This is a gripping read, full of detail about stained glass creation and mediaeval rural life.  Although fiction, it includes a number of real life places, buildings, and events, clearly identified in interesting footnotes throughout.  The fictional village feels like a real place however, as it and its residents are so well portrayed.  The story is graphically told yet despite the horrors of the Black Death we still see hope, love and Amalric’s desire to create something new with his designs.  I hope we hear more about Amalric, but I also hope we hear more from Andrea Sarginson, who is a bright new addition to Christian fiction.

9781912726189, Instant Apostle, Published February 2020 (UK).

For transparency, I work with Instant Apostle but I was not required to write any specific or favourable review. All views herein are my own.