The East of England BookBubble Bookcase

Suffolk coast. Historical fiction. A young boy lives with his family yearning for adventure and to go to sea but is held back by a crippled foot, instead living a life which is shaped by  farming, fishing and an influx of summer visitors. As he befriends a visiting artist and his wife, war breaks out with Germany and soldiers arrive in the area chasing the rhythm of life in the community. As tourists leave, anyone who stays is treated with suspicion as the locals become increasingly suspicious of outsiders and their eccentricities.

Cambridge. Following what can only be described as an 'incident' when he is found wandering naked around Cambridge in the rain late one night, a Professor of Maths finds that he is not really feeling himself. He can't relate to his wife and son, he's not sure what to do with his clothes and he can't stand food anymore. What is going on and how can he regain some sense of who he really is? Some spot-on observations about human behaviour and our need to belong.  Original, clever and thought-provoking.

Cambridge. A searingly hot summer and a personal tragedy frame the personal circumstances of a police inspector turned private investigator as he takes on three disparate case histories spanning several decades. It soon becomes apparent that , despite seeming completely unrelated, there are connections in unexpected places. The first in a series of books.

Essex and London. 1893. In a period of great change and developments, a young widow retreats to the countryside. There she encounters rumours of a local monster appearing in the marshes, sowing fear amongst the local community. A scientist at heart, she believes it may be a new species and, with the means to indulge her interests, sets out to track it down. In doing so she crosses paths with the local vicar with whom she disagrees on almost everything. Each determined to pursue their truth, they find themselves drawn together and changing each other's lives in ways they never expected..

Essex. 1643. In a village depleted of its menfolk as a result of the Civil War, the womenfolk left behind are left largely to their own devices until the self-appointed  Witchfinder General appears. A man who assumes authority and takes advantage of his position of power, makes damning accusations and seeds unease and distrust amongst the villagers. What must they do to escape persecution and what will they betray to protect themselves? A lyrical prose and an unsettling and compelling historical novel.

Suffolk. Historical fiction. On the eve of WW2 a young woman moves from the city to the Suffolk countryside in a bid to move on from a broken marriage. Finding herself lonely and needing something to occupy her, she forms an orchestra recruiting from the local villages and the local airbase. Amongst her recruits is a handsome but reserved Polish refugee with whom she starts to develop  a friendship. A gentle and affirming read.

A young woman, seeking to escape her own personal tragedy, takes a job with a recluse on a scarcely inhabited island off the coast of East Anglia. Her grief is soon overtaken by a sense of unease as strange things happen on the island and she begins to discover its secret history.

Fenlands. Psychological thriller. He is her husband but he calls her by a name that is not hers. Trapped on an isolated farm surrounded by the vast flatness of the fenlands, her every move monitored, she knows if she tries to escape she will be seen and brought back. But now she has a reason to fight. Tense, gripping page-turner that raises some important issues.

Any genre, any location.