I’m in advance of myself in terms of book club… I have finished the book!! Maybe because I’m always reading other things, maybe because I’m not always that keen on the book which has been chosen and struggle to engage of be interested in what we’re reading, but I have to confess I am often hurrying to finish the chosen volume on the day we are due to get together.
This month we have been reading ‘I’ll Keep You Safe’ by Peter May… this is what the Amazon blurb says:
The number one bestseller from the million-selling author of Cast Iron, Coffin Road and The Blackhouse.
….Whatever happens
Niamh and Ruairidh Macfarlane co-own the Hebridean company Ranish Tweed. On a business trip to Paris to promote their luxury brand, Niamh learns of Ruairidh’s affair, and then looks on as he and his lover are killed by a car bomb. She returns home to Lewis, bereft.
…I’ll always be there for you
Niamh begins to look back on her life with Ruairidh, desperate to identify anyone who may have held a grudge against him. The French police, meanwhile, have ruled out terrorism, and ruled in murder – and sent detective Sylvie Braque to shadow their prime suspect: Niamh.
…I’ll keep you safe, no matter what
As one woman works back through her memories, and the other moves forward with her investigation, the two draw ever closer to a deadly enemy with their own, murderous, designs.
‘I’ll Keep You Safe’ is a very gripping story, a real page turner and a fascinating insight into the world of tweed, Harris Tweed, tartan, weaving, crofts, crofters and crofting, island life, the Isle of Lewis, and high fashion… which sounds an unusual combination of worlds and ways of life. The story is set partly in Paris and partly in Scotland, partly in the present, partly in the past, the story is told in the first person from Niamh’s point of view, also in the third person from her and also Sylvie’s point of view, and also by the unseen omnipotent narrator – the writer!
Obviously the author is a man, so it was interesting to see how successfully he was able to tell the story in various ways through the main characters, all women. I thought he managed it quite successfully.. I hope I am equally successful telling my Radwinter stories through my male character Thomas Radwinter! I have to admit that there were times when I found the writing a little clumsy and almost forced – however, the brilliant descriptions and evocation of the Scottish island were wonderful, and so vivid. There was a real insight into the grind of everyday lives of ordinary people and how tiny, silly incidents can lead to terrible and tragic consequences.
Here is a link to Peter:
… and here is a link to my six Radwinter books… Please let me know if you think I have successfully managed to tell the story from a male point of view:
Lois Elsden 