Imitation of love (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

It has become something of a tradition that I read one of Sally Quilford’s novellas on my Kindle each time I travel to the UK. They’re usually light-weight but well-written, with interesting plots. This year I decided to read ‘Imitation of love’, which, I quickly discovered, is historical fiction. Apparently I downloaded it nearly twelve years ago, when it was offered free on Amazon. 

The main character is a strong-minded independent young woman called Catherine, and most of the story is told from her point of view. She is very close to her brother James, and they have a younger sister, Alyssa, who’s rather more frivolous. The book is set at some unspecified date around the French revolution, and it’s clear from the start that James and Catherine are involved in forging documents that enable people to escape.

Most of their work is done for a legendary, unknown character known as ‘The Captain’, who pays James well for the documents he receives. James sometimes travels with him, and his earnings just about support him and his sisters. They have recently lost their father, so James owns the family home. But Alyssa longs for nice clothes, and a ‘season’ where she might find a husband. She’s very beautiful and would like to marry someone wealthy enough that she could have some of the luxuries currently denied to her. 

James would also like more disposable income, so that he can attend parties and other gatherings hosted by his wealthy friend Mr Oakley. We learn in the first chapter that Mr Oakley is also ‘The Captain’, but Catherine has no idea. She idolises the Captain, as many women do, but rather despises Mr Oakley. And Mr Oakley, it’s clear, is equally dismissive of women in general, believing that they are shallow, mercenary and unable to keep secrets. 

In the hope of some extra money, James takes on another commission which he hopes will pay well. And then tragedy happens, unexpectedly, forcing Catherine and Alyssa to leave their home. Mr Oakley was asked by James to look after his sisters if anything happened to him, so they go to stay at his home, chaperoned by his aunt. 

There’s quite a lot that happens in this short novel, and I found myself drawn in very quickly. Sally Quiford has a gift of characterisation, and I found Catherine a likeable and sympathetic character. Mr Oakley seems rather an enigma - sometimes kind and generous, sometimes abrupt and distant. He has a reputation for being something of a womaniser and Catherine has heard anecdotes that imply that he is not to be trusted.

But as she gets to know him, and hear his side of the story, she realises that he’s honourable and courageous. And, inevitably, she starts to fall for him. Alyssa, meanwhile, loves her new wardrobe and meeting people in society, but instead of finding a rich husband, she starts to fall for Mr Oakley’s impecunious friend Mr Harrington…

In such a short book, there’s little time for subplots or the kind of ironic humour that characterises my favourite historical fiction of this era. But it’s still quite a gripping book, with several of the plot elements that feature in some of Georgette Heyer’s novels. I’m  not sure that the style or conversation is entirely authentic for the era, but it reads well on the whole, and there wasn’t anything that jarred when I read it.

Once I was about a third of the way through, I became quite engrossed in the storyline and found it difficult to put down. The ending is predictable, but nicely done after a dramatic climax and a few tense pages where it’s not clear what is going to happen. 

All in all, I enjoyed ‘Imitation of love’, and would recommend it to anyone wanting a quick light read, and who likes this kind of historical fiction set mainly amongst the upper and upper middle classes. Only available, as far as I know, in Kindle form. It's no longer free, but very inexpensive. 

Review copyright 2025 Sue's Book Reviews

Midnight Train (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I have a large collection of Kindle books by Sally Quilford, most of them downloaded free when she made them available as a special offer. I usually read at least one when I’m travelling. This time I decided that ‘Midnight Train’ looked interesting; I acquired it eight years ago but had not previously read it. Apparently it was originally published as a magazine pocket novel.

I had no idea what to expect, as the author writes in a variety of genres. I quickly discovered that this was a romantic thriller. Sally Quilford has a gift of characterisation, and for a while I could barely put the book down. More than once I was reminded of some of the contemporary novels of Jane Aiken Hodge or Mary Stewart, both of whom also used this genre. 

There are two main characters. Angela is a former actress, in her forties, whose agent is trying to persuade her to reprise a role she played in her twenties. She doesn’t want to, but finds it hard to say no. She’s also stressed when she discovers that her ex-husband’s new wife is pregnant. Evidently there’s some history there, but we don’t learn exactly what is involved until towards the end of the book. 

Mike is the other main character. He’s in his fifties, a vicar who has recently gone through a very stressful time. Again, we don’t learn all the details until much later, although there are sufficient hints that his eventual revelation does not come as any surprise. He’s feeling exhausted, with a lot of demands, and decides that he needs a break. He is widowed with a son at university. 

Both Mike and Angela decide to take a trip on the ‘Midnight Train’, a journey across parts of Europe ending in the fictional country of Cariastan. There are sufficient hints to let the reader know that they may not return, that the trip is doomed… 

Much of the story takes place on the train. Mike and Angela meet when it’s discovered that they had both misunderstood their bookings, and after initial misunderstandings they decide to make the best of it. Mike doesn’t want to admit that he’s a minister, despite the fact that Angela mentions her father being a retired Vicar. He feels that his profession can get in the way of friendships or other relationships - and he feels very attracted to Angela. 

However they have little chance to develop a relationship, as a dangerous plot is gradually revealed, involving extreme danger to everyone on the train. They have no idea who they can trust - if anyone. Other characters include two young men who work as staff, Cal and Will, and a small boy called Solomon who’s with an impatient woman called Patty. Then there’s Ambroise, a Frenchman… and an elderly couple from Mike’s church who decided to join the tour at the last minute, to keep an eye on him. 

The underlying story involves complex politics, greed and scandals, and I admit to skimming a little over some of the detail. I expect some of this would seem unrealistic to people more knowledgeable than I am. But I had no trouble accepting a fictional oil-rich microstate that was formerly part of the USSR. I didn’t like the violence and deaths that occurred, but they’re not unusual in this genre, and are done without any gratuitous detail. 

I hoped that there would be an eventual positive resolution to what was a very tense book in places - but wasn’t at all sure how this could happen. I thought the climax of the story was cleverly handled, and I loved the way that Angela shows herself to be a strong, independent woman with many unusual skills. 

The writing is mostly very good, the action well-paced, the characters believable. Having said that, there are a few proofing errors. There’s also a slight confusion in that someone, with similarities to a child, apparently his grandfather, turns out to be not a blood relation at all. I kept expecting a new revelation, but the mistake is never explored - nor is it explained, or even mentioned later in the book.

But on the whole I liked this book very much. I would recommend it to anyone who likes the romantic thriller genre, and who would like a quick, light read. Available in large print paperback, and still inexpensive for the Kindle. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews

A Collector of Hearts (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I have liked all the books I’ve read by Sally Quilford on my Kindle, and downloaded several of them when she has offered them free for a short period. However it sometimes takes me a while to find one of them to read; it happens most often when I’m travelling. That’s the case for ‘A Collector of Hearts’, a novella that I apparently downloaded about a decade ago but have only just read.

Sally Quilford writes in quite a variety of genres, but her main gift is that of characterisation. She weaves a good plot, too, and while this isn’t exactly crime fiction, or a mystery, or even a ghost story, I would perhaps categorise it as a gothic romance, albeit in a rather mild forum.

The main character is a young woman called Caroline who is visiting a stately home for a few days, culminating in a fancy dress halloween ball. Caroline is the paid companion of a rather cranky elderly woman who finds it hard to keep anyone around her. But Caroline needs to be earning, and she quite enjoys her job even though it’s often frustrating. She’s the only companion who has ever been able to stand up to her employer, and hopes she won’t overstep the boundaries.

She’s out for a walk to post a letter at dusk, and, being a practical kind of person, has no worries about ghosts despite having heard stories of spooks and ghouls at the castle. However she’s quite startled to encounter a young man walking out of the mist; she doesn’t have a good first impression of him, but then again she can’t quite forget him. I assumed they were going to end up together, as that’s how this kind of romantic fiction tends to work, but couldn’t really see how it could happen based on their casual, apparently random and very brief meeting.

So it’s no surprise when the young man turns up as a guest at the houseparty, claiming an old friendship with the host. Caroline thinks there’s something odd about this, but it’s not her place to ask questions and she’s more concerned with trying to look after her employer who is worried about a valuable jewel being stolen. It seems as though there might be some justification for this, when Caroline’s room has obviously been rifled in her absence…

It’s not a long novel; I read it in about three hours on a flight that would otherwise have been quite boring, and found myself engrossed almost from the start. I was concerned it might be a bit too scary for my tastes, but the amount of tension proved to be just right: it kept me reading, wondering what was going on and how it would be resolved, but without any real sense of dread.  There are quite a few different characters but I quickly worked out - and remembered - the ones that mattered, seeing them all through Caroline’s eyes as the weekend progresses.

There are some surprises, some unexpected revelations, and the inevitable (albeit very low-key) romance.  I thought it was very well done, within the bounds of a pocket-novel or novella format, with a positive outcome… and then an epilogue that complemented the story nicely, though to say anything else would be too much of a spoiler.

Definitely recommended if you want a quick, light and engrossing read that doesn’t take more than a few hours.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews

Take my Breath Away (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve liked all the books I’ve read by Sally Quilford, most of them in Kindle form. I’ve downloaded quite a few at times when she offers them free or on special offer, so when I’m travelling I often take the opportunity to read another one. With the pandemic I haven’t travelled much for nearly three years, so my Kindle has largely been unused.

But on a recent flight I decided to read another Quilford book, and selected ‘Take my Breath Away’ from those I had downloaded. I thought it would probably be a contemporary romance, given the cover and the title. So I was a bit surprised to find, fairly early in the book, that in fact it’s a murder mystery.

Much of the story takes place on a film set, where a historical production is being re-made. The director, George Cassius, is very full of himself. He’s convinced he is a genius - and he did make one film that did extremely well. But apparently his recent productions have been less well regarded. Nevertheless he Is determined that this one will be a blockbuster - and he treats his cast and crew badly in order to get things done.

Patty is the heroine of the book, and we see most of the plot from her perspective. She’s a top actress, playing the part of Cleopatra. She’s just taken a short break from filming with her ex-husband Jason, who clearly isn’t well but won’t admit to it. She goes back to the set… and it’s not long afterwards that the first shock happens, and Patty is suddenly a suspect.

This killing is one of three that take place rather quickly in the next weeks, and though Patty has strong alibis for the others, the press get on her trail. She’s concerned for herself, but more so for her son Jude, who’s about ten and very bright. He and Patty have a good relationship but she’s very protective - partly, as we soon learn, because he has some serious health issues.

A private investigator called Tony is called in to see if he can find out anything that might reduce insurance payments, He and Patty don’t start off too well, but are evidently attracted to each other. So yes, there’s a romantic element to the book which is somewhat inevitable, and I thought it was handled well. But the main focus is the unmasking of the perpetrator(s) of the crimes - and it’s a tense story, very well done.

Possibly the writing could have benefited from some editorial help; there are a few overdone cliches, and one or two typos. A wrong name is used at one point, too, which momentarily confused me. But somehow it doesn’t matter. Sally Quilford has a gift for characterisation; I could empathise strongly with Patty despite her lifestyle being far removed from mine. And it’s the characters that keep the book moving.

The plot is clever, too. I was quite in the dark about ‘whodunit’ - yet, in retrospect, I could probably have worked it out. The book is tense without being too scary, moving without being sappy, and ends In an encouraging way after a dramatic climax. Although I was too tired to read much on the plane, it didn’t take me long to finish it once I had arrived at my destination and had some sleep.

All in all I enjoyed it very much. Recommended if you like this genre of ‘cosy crime’ fiction with a light romantic subplot running alongside the main story.

Review copyright 2022 Sue's Book Reviews

With This Hand (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I wanted something to dip in and out of on my Kindle while travelling recently. A collection of short stories by Sally Quilford seemed to fit the bill nicely, so I started ‘With This Hand (and Other Stories of Romance)’. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect; this author writes in many different genres, from straightforward contemporary romances to historical romantic crime fiction.

There are notes at the front of most of the stories. Some merely state which magazine originally published them, if relevant, possibly under a different name. Others were not published before this collection. A few have longer notes, explaining where the ideas came from, or who inspired them. There are some interesting personal insights amongst them.

The opening story is a classic romance, ‘The Hungry Years’. It’s about a middle-aged couple who are going through a lot of stress. He has lost his job, and she is always angry. There are some flashbacks to their early, hard up years, and an entirely satisfactory resolution. It’s not always easy for short stories to hold the attention; in just a few thousand words characters and situations have to be developed and something has to change. This first story fulfils all the requirements, and I found it quite moving.

The second story is about a couple who have just had their divorce finalised when something drastic happens. It’s kind of a ghost story, rather surreal, and also, ultimately, quite satisfying albeit a tad disturbing. The third story is about a young woman who has no sense of direction and regularly gets things wrong - but is very kind-hearted and courageous.

There’s a Christmas story next, one involving two children and a couple of single parents, and then a decidedly surreal story where the world pauses as a bride decides to speak honestly to several people she is frustrated with. That’s followed by another rather different story about a ceremony with a difference. There are quite a few stories about uncertain people, and more than one story with a hint - or more - of something surreal.

However nothing really prepared me for the final, much longer story, which - so the initial note explains - was based on a classic legend. It’s not one I knew about, and I found it all rather disturbing. There’s more violence than I’m comfortable with; it’s not the kind of story that would make it into mainstream women’s fiction. As with the others, the writing and characterisation is good, and I kept reading, out of curiosity as to where the story was going. But I didn’t like it as much as any of the others - and was glad I read it while travelling in the daytime rather than before going to sleep.

Other than the last story, I liked all the others very much. I didn’t pay anything for this collection which I downloaded on special offer seven years ago. I see it’s still available inexpensively for the Kindle. I would recommend it to anyone who likes mixed short stories including some with a supernatural element. It made ideal reading while travelling.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's Book Reviews

The Ghost of Christmas Past (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I always take my Kindle with me when flying, and like to read something that will capture my interest without being too long. Very often I opt for one of Sally Quilford’s novellas, several of which I downloaded years ago when she offered the ebook versions free for a short period. Since I was flying to the UK on Boxing Day, I thought that it would be appropriate to read ‘The Ghost of the Christmas Past’, which is part of the ‘Midchester’ series.

It quickly becomes clear that, unlike others in this series which are set in the middle of the twentieth century, this takes place perhaps fifty years earlier; I don’t think a date is specified, but the setting is Victorian rather than post-war. The main character is Elizabeth Dearheart, a young woman who lives with her Vicar father, and her ten-year-old brother Samuel. We meet them as they are coming out of church, chatting with two elderly and impoverished sisters, whom they invite to lunch.

Discussions revolve around some rather shady characters; the sisters, who don’t get out much, like to hear about shocking and scandalous stories. They watch their neighbours, and are inclined to instant judgements of any newcomers.

There’s quite a cast of characters; Sally Quilford is skilled at making people real, and I found myself warming to Elizabeth and her gentle father, and also her somewhat impetuous brother who is always eager to be out and active with his friends. Unfortunately, despite reading this in one sitting, I became quite confused about some of the more minor people and relationships. One disadvantage of reading a book in Kindle form is that it’s quite difficult to go back and re-read or check on earlier chapters to refresh the memory. So it was a bit difficult to work out who was significant in the story, and who was not.

There are some shocks - this series is crime fiction, although I don’t think I could have worked out the details of the events that transpire. But, as usual with this author, I kept reading; the story flowed well despite my not always following who was whom or what had happened, and I was pleased to be able to finish it within about three hours. The ending is entirely satisfactory, even if the outcome was somewhat predictable from rather earlier in the book.

I didn’t like this book as much as I’ve liked some others by Sally Quilford, but it still made a good distraction on what would have been rather a dull five-hour flight.

All the 'Midchester Memories' books stand alone, so can be read in any order. This one is only, as far as I know, available in Kindle form.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's Book Reviews

Mistletoe Mystery (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I finished the book I was reading on my Kindle within the first few minutes of a flight home after a lengthy trip away. I wanted something fairly lightweight that I hoped to finish in two or three hours, as I prefer to read print editions of books when I’m not travelling. Scrolling through my unread fiction, I saw that I still have several novels by Sally Quilford, whose work makes ideal reading for flights.

‘Mistletoe Mystery’ is part of the Midchester series, but as far as I can tell each book is complete in itself, the only links being the town in which the story takes place. And in this one, almost all the action takes place in a large mansion, owned by a young woman called Philly. It was left to her by her godmother, who was insistent that she keep it rather than sell it, but this is proving rather difficult.

Philly is a small-time actress, and has some good friends. We meet her apparently planning to poison somebody… but it quickly becomes apparent that this isn’t in fact a crime, but her latest attempt to earn some money. It’s not particularly successful, and she’s almost in despair when she discovers some paintings in the attic and wonders if any of them are worth anything significant.

So she travels to see an art expert, and bumps into a rather gorgeous young man called Matt. He seems to know something about art, and shows considerable interest in Philly, rather to her surprise. She is even more surprised when he gets in touch with her afterwards, and comes to visit her.

However something isn’t quite right about Matt, and Philly feels edgy. Meanwhile she’s been finding out about her house, which used to be a school. She learns about a young French girl who went missing, and whose ghost is said to haunt the building. She also gets to know a few locals, some of whom have connections with her house. And then there’s the puzzle of where the paintings in the attic have come from, and whether they’re genuine..

I found some of the threads of the story a bit confusing. This isn't clear crime fiction of the Agatha Christie style, with logical investigations and deductions. Instead it's a character-based novel where there is more than one mystery ongoing. I don't think I could have guessed the outcomes, but that didn't matter at all.

I thought it well-written with an excellent pace that made me want to keep reading. As ever, Sally Quilford created believable and well-rounded characters. I could empathise with Philly’s uncertainty regarding Matt; I also felt her frustration as she tried to make ends meet, feeling the house a burden at times, but wanting to honour her godmother’s last request.

About half an hour before my flight landed, I was just over half-way through the book when my Kindle froze. I re-set it the following day, but when I tried to read the rest of the book, the Kindle froze again at exactly the same place.

Evidently there was some problem with the downloaded file - which was a relief, as it meant the Kindle itself wasn’t faulty! - so as I was eager to find out what happened, I read the rest in the Kindle app on my computer. I don’t like reading fiction on my computer screen, so it’s a testament to the writing and the plot that I didn’t feel I could abandon the book half-way through. I read all the rest in one sitting.

The book was originally published as a pocket novel; it’s free of bad language or anything explicit, and has a satisfying and positive ending.

Definitely recommended. As far as I know, 'Mistletoe Mystery' is only currently available in Kindle form.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's Book Reviews

Big girls don't cry (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I have quite a few Sally Quilford books on my Kindle. I have downloaded them over the years, usually when she offers books free. They are not particularly long - more novella length than novel - and ideal reading for a flight. So, on a recent journey, I scrolled through my collection and found ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, third in the Bobby Blandford series.

I had read the first two in the series, The Last Dance and The Runaway and liked them very much. I recalled the young, enthusiastic Bobby, a policewoman in the early 1960s when this profession was mainly dominated by men and when sexism was rife. This is Bobby’s third year in the Stoney End Force, and she has made some friends, but is still treated with suspicion and contempt by others in the force.

This story begins when Bobby and a colleague are called out to a minor break-in at the house of two middle-aged women. They’re a bit confused about what has happened, and nothing appears to have been stolen. So when they receive another call, to the scene of a bank robbery, they race off immediately. Great excitement ensues as this is a small village and crime is usually limited to the breaking of a window.

The bank staff describe what happened when four men wearing silly masks threatened them, gave the bank manager a nasty injury, and stole all the cash intended for the local factory payroll. Bobby decides to investigate some bank robberies of the past, convinced there is a connection.

This book is not just a crime story, however. Sally Quilford is skilled in characterisation, and relationships of varying kinds are as important as the plot. Bobby, who has been going out with the local doctor for two years, is having trouble with her love life. He keeps upsetting her, and their relationship doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Is he too busy, or becoming indifferent, or does he want their relationship to end? And what should she do about the attentions of a visiting Scotland Yard policeman?

Then there’s stress with Bobby’s older brother Tom, who also works for Scotland Yard. She has always idolised him, but he seems very stressed, and is behaving towards locals in ways that shock her. Has he changed, or was he always this way? Can she trust him…?

I was quickly caught up in the story, which has some shocks but nothing too gory; I had guessed part of the outcome and was already suspicious about one person who turned out to be a bad guy. But there were parts I didn’t expect too. The writing is crisp, the conversation believable, and I enjoyed spending a couple of hours with Bobby, who is a delightful creation - full of enthusiasm and integrity, but somewhat accident-prone and inclined to take everything personally.

Definitely recommended if you enjoy light crime fiction of this genre. Only available in Kindle form.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's Book Reviews

The Donkey Driver's Wife (and other stories) by Sally Quilford

(Amazon UK link)

After finishing one book on my Kindle, on a recent flight to the UK, I browsed the couple of hundred titles I’ve downloaded over the years which I still hadn’t read. The title ‘The Donkey Driver’s Wife’ by Sally Quilford caught my eye. I’ve downloaded several of this author’s books over the years, usually when she has a special offer; but none of her e-books are expensive.

This book is a collection of short stories, many of them unpublished although a few won awards or places in competitions. They’re not typical women’s magazine fodder, as I quickly discovered. Instead they’re slightly darker, and in some cases quite thought-provoking. In the introduction the author states that she realised as she put the collection together that she has quite a fascination with inanimate objects; this is reflected in several of the stories.

The first story, ‘Don’t Play on South Street’ is chilling in a way that becomes increasingly apparent as the story progresses. Is an old wives’ tale true, about a particular street leading to tragedy? Or is it the rumour itself which leads people to dark thoughts which then turn to tragedy? Or is it in fact about an unwitting slide into mental illness or dementia…? While the story has a conclusion, it leaves many questions open.

The second story, ‘Mr Potato Head’, apparently began as a kind of satire, and is bizarre in the extreme in the first pages. But it turns into a story of growth and development as a trodden-down woman begins to take small steps towards independence.

Then there’s a story about a woman whose mind is frozen in time, after a tragedy. There's a story about a rock which notices what goes on in the world, and appreciates people being friendly. There’s one about a kind of social worker who becomes emotionally involved in the people she’s working with, and carries her own secrets. 

There's also a very chilling story about two children escaping from someone they loathe. At the end of the book there’s an unusual story. It took me a little while to understand what was happening, but it’s quite powerful and made an excellent ending to the book.

There are others, too, all very readable. The short story that gives its name to the collection is a realistic, rather stark story set in the 1980s miners’ strike in the UK.

I’m not sure I’d have started the book at all if I’d realised they would be such dark stories, but they’re engaging and well-written. There’s more bad language than I like, but in context it’s mostly not inappropriate.

Recommended to anyone who likes short stories with a bite to them. Only available in Kindle form.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's Book Reviews

The Runaway (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

After reading a children’s Kindle book that was much shorter than I had expected, I wanted something else to read while on a flight. I decided to try another book by Sally Quilford, a prolific author who has written quite a number of short stories and pocket novels for women’s magazines, over the past few years. I had previously enjoyed one about the young policewoman Bobbie Blandford, so decided to try the second in the series, ‘The Runaway’.

Bobbie is embarking on her second year in Stony End as this story opens, set in 1961. She’s taking part in a parade, when a cry of ‘Stop, thief!’ makes her break rank. It’s a light-hearted opening to a novella with some quite serious issues involved, including the struggle of women to be accepted as equals to men.

A body is discovered and Bobbie gets involved in the resultant enquiry, which she thinks may be linked to an unsolved mystery from the past. However this isn’t just crime fiction; alongside Bobbie’s work is her romantic involvement with Leo, the local doctor.

Sally Quilford has a gift of creating memorable and likeable characters, and I found myself involved in the story very quickly. It’s been over two years since I read ‘The Last Dance’, which introduces Bobbie, but her quirks and personality shine through and it quickly felt as if I were meeting an old friend once more. I vaguely recalled other members of the cast, but it’s not necessary to have read the earlier book as this one stands alone.

During the course of the story there are unexpected revelations, one of them causing Bobbie to take up an appointment at another town for a while, where she meets some sexism and a unpleasant household scenario. The settings feel real, set firmly around the working people of the 1960s, and the pace of the book is good. It kept me engrossed on my flight; once I’d reached my destination, despite being quite tired, I was eager to continue reading to find out what was going to happen.

It’s not a long book, and the mysteries aren’t full of red herrings and careful clues, as might be expected with mid-20th century crime fiction. But for people who like crime-related stories featuring a low-key romance, and some great characterisation (albeit with a few caricatures), I would recommend this.

Only available in Kindle form, as far as I know. I think it was on special offer when I downloaded it a few years ago, but it’s still, in my opinion, extremely good value.

Review copyright 2017 Sue's Book Reviews

Anna's Return (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I have been reading novellas by Sally Quilford for some years now, since coming across her blog, and becoming friends on Facebook. She often offers some of her books free for the Kindle, and I usually take the opportunity to download them. I have quite a few still unread, as I don’t usually read much on my Kindle other than when travelling, so I decided to try another of them after finishing something else on a recent flight from the UK.

‘Anna’s Return’ is set in the war years, and begins with a train journey. 18-year-old Janek, a Polish refugee, has managed to reach the UK and hopes to join the army. He meets 10-year-old Anna, who has escaped from Germany after losing her Russian mother, and hopes to find her father, a peer who is married to someone else. She has no idea whether he will accept her, or even acknowledge her, but he is her only hope.

Perhaps predictably, there are problems on the train, and Anna’s welcome is not as warm as she might have hoped, although the housekeeper, Mrs Palmer, is very friendly. Janek promises to stay in touch, but doesn’t do so, and the years pass with Anna playing something of a Cinderella role in her father’s household. By the third chapter she has turned eighteen, and the war is a distant memory.

It’s impossible to say much more without giving spoilers, but it’s a fast-paced and very readable book which I enjoyed very much. Anna is a believable person, confident and loyal, even though life has not treated her well. She has to start making her own way in the world, due to yet more unfortunate circumstances, and works her way up from the bottom, though she becomes wary of people mistrusting her, and - perhaps naively - doesn’t speak out about what’s happened in the past.

Most of the book is then a gentle romance, with inevitable confusion, misunderstandings and hurts. It’s nicely done, with some unexpected twists and turns, and I found Anna a very likeable young woman. At times I wanted to give her a nudge and tell her to speak out; frustration with the way someone in a book behaves is a mark of great characterisation, and it’s here that Sally Quilford excels, in my opinions. Her people, even some of the minor characters, are three-dimensional, and I cared what happened to them.

I didn’t manage to finish the book on my flight despite it being a pocket novel rather than a full-length one, but I was so eager to find out what happened that I continued to read every spare moment I had after my return, despite being tired and jet-lagged, and having little time to myself as we had visiting family members.

Definitely recommended for those who like post war-years romantic fiction.

Review copyright 2017 Sue's Book Reviews

The Night of the Mange Tout (and other stories) by Sally Quilford

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve downloaded a lot of books by Sally Quilford, since I first came across her writing several years ago now. She mainly writes for magazines but also produces a large number of ebooks, inexpensively, in a variety of genres. Better still, she regularly offers selections of them free for the Kindle.

‘Night of the mange tout’ is an intriguing title for what is in fact a collection of short stories in the light crime genre. Some, as the author notes where relevant, were previously published in magazines or elsewhere, but not all of them. Three or four feature a specific young police officer called Dandy McLean; a handful are set in a particular place involving the same characters; some are one-off stories. Each is complete in itself.

There’s quite a mixture of style within these short stories. The one giving the unusual title to the collection is light and satirical, featuring a young man who would like to be a mafia hit man but finds himself growing organic vegetables... Others are more traditional, with a body at the beginning and a bit of a mystery. And one features an apparent runaway with a thoughtful message about being a parent.

These made ideal reading while I was on holiday. I keep my Kindle in my bag, and can pull it out at any odd moment, with five or ten minutes being sufficient to read any of these stories. There’s nothing particularly gory, and each story is different enough that there was no feel of them being ‘samey’.

In some cases it was not difficult to predict the ending; in others, including one particularly surreal story, I don’t think it would have been possible. But that’s okay; I’m not one to worry obsessively over details and clues, and I enjoyed each story for what it was.

Recommended if you like light crime stories. Only available in Kindle format.

Review copyright 2016 Sue's Book Reviews

Her Friend from the North (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few of Sally Quilford’s novellas on my Kindle, and regularly download more when she offers a free promotion. This particular one was free on February 14th a couple of years ago, but I have a lot of unread books on my Kindle, and had not got around to reading it.

However, on a recent coach journey, I wanted something light and decided that ‘Her friend from the North’ would be suitable. I had forgotten hat this isn’t a novella, but a short story of around 5000 words. The genre is that of a romantic thriller, and the plot moves at quite a pace.

Sally Quilford is very skilled at creating believable characters that I can empathise with, and I had no difficulty relating to the narrator of this story, a young woman called Valentine. She’s unemployed and trying to take shelter from the rain after a depressing job interview when she’s surprised by a sudden kiss from a stranger. It’s a great opening that drew me right in.

Valentine finds a piece of paper in her pocket when she returns home and decides to follow up a clue to something that is potentially very dangerous. The rest of the story then takes place in Venice, where everything happens so rapidly that I felt a bit confused and a little breathless at times…

Thrillers aren’t my preferred genre of story, although this one is thankfully free of gore and bad language, and is short enough that there’s very little suspense. Nonetheless, I felt that it suffered from its brevity; we learn a few facts about Valentine’s parents and her upsetting past, but I’d have liked to have known more. I didn’t feel that her motivation for following up the clue was really explored, either, and never really felt myself to be part of the story.

I think my biggest problem, though, was that I found the main male character a bit flat. He was rather caricatured, a ‘northerner’ by the way he spoke, but I wasn’t sure what the point of his accent was. I was also unconvinced by a rather sudden intimate scene that seemed unnecessary to the plot.

Nevertheless, as with all this author’s books the story is well-written and the ending satisfactory. It was good to read on a coach as I finished it in less than ten minutes, despite having to page backwards a couple of times to remind myself what was going on - but then I’m not very good with this kind of plot. I’m glad I didn’t pay for it, although the Kindle edition cost is very low, but I would like it to have been clearer at the front of the book that this is a short story rather than a novel.

Only, as far as I know, available in Kindle form, certainly worth reading if you like this genre. If you have KindleUnlimited you can download it at no cost.

Review copyright 2016 Sue's Book Reviews

The Last Dance (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I like to have something to read on my Kindle while I’m eating breakfast, or at odd moments when out and about. Sometimes I read classics, sometimes non-fiction, and sometimes novellas - short novels, offered inexpensively or sometimes (for short periods) free in ebook form. I have particularly enjoyed several of Sally Quilford’s novellas, so was pleased when I was able to download this one a few months ago.

‘The Last Dance’ is a crime fiction story set in 1960. We meet Bobbie (Roberta) Blandford, a young woman who has just finished her training as a policewoman. Inevitably, given the era, she is going to meet some discrimination, some condescension from male colleagues who think they are better than she is, and some downright hostility. And indeed, her first few days in the village of Stony End are fraught with problems.

We first see Bobbie managing to stop a runaway car, only to invoke the ire of a good-looking but angry doctor called Leo on his way to an emergency. Bobbie meets Annabel, another doctor, who becomes her landlady (and close friend) and gradually, in the first chapter, we learn a great deal about her and her reasons for joining the police force.

Bobbie finds that the her immediate boss, the sergeant in the police force, is somewhat dour but essentially kind-hearted, and one or two of the other officers are fatherly and friendly. But she really doesn’t take to young Peter Porter, the only policeman about her age. Before long an unusual murder is committed and Bobbie is frustrated to be kept on the desk, or making tea, rather than having any part in the investigation.

There are several threads in this story, nicely interwoven. There’s the obvious issue of women starting to work in what used to be a man’s world, something that’s addressed more than once as Bobbie has to work doubly hard to have her achievements and intelligence accepted. She has a lot of questions about her father, too; he was also a police officer, but was killed when she was quite young, while on duty.

She doesn’t know what to think about Leo, the doctor, either; sometimes he seems kind and she starts to fall for him; other times he’s distant and abrupt. She learns something about him that starts her asking a lot of difficult questions, and looking into the past; she is warned off by someone else.

Then there’s another unpleasant incident. And yet more revelations come to light.

The writing, as with all Sally Quilford’s work, is good; the characters come to life, the conversations are believable, and the pace, I thought, just right with a good balance of description and action. The historical context feels believable, if a tad over-researched here and there, but even that minor quibble isn’t a serious one. The story is written in the first person, and in places Bobbie, as an elderly woman in the 21st century, makes comments on the past with considerable hindsight. It could have been a little annoying, but somehow it works.

I had guessed most of the end of the story, including the final exposition of ‘who dun it’ towards the end, although I hadn’t expected one dramatic incident in the climax. But that didn’t matter; this isn’t Agatha Christie with a careful trail of false clues and an unexpected resolution. It’s character-driven crime fiction, with a low-key romance included. There is a sequel already which I look forward to reading at some point.

Definitely recommended. It’s inexpensively available for the Kindle, and makes a good light read for those who enjoy this kind of non-gory light crime fiction.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's Book Reviews

The doctor's daughter (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve read several of Sally Quilford’s novellas and have very much enjoyed her articles about writing, both on and offline. Any time she offers one of her books free for Kindle download, I snap it up immediately.

One such book is ‘The doctor’s daughter’, which introduces Peg Bradbourne, an independent young woman in 1917. Unlike many of the young ladies of her time - including her sisters - Peg likes to do things by herself, and speak her mind; as the story starts, she is considering moving out of her step-mother’s home and into a cottage in the village.

Peg is, as the title suggests, a doctor’s daughter. Her father was somewhat unconventional and she saw many things that girls of her era would not normally be aware of. So when she learns that a dead man has been discovered, she goes to take a look.

The police don’t see any mystery in his circumstances but Peg notices his lack of boots, and determines to find out who he was, and who might have removed his footwear… then, just as things are calming down a little, someone else is found dead, in far more suspicious circumstances.

This is a light crime fiction novella, giving some background into Peg’s life as a young woman. She appears as a minor character in the 'Midchester Memories' series of books, set in the middle of the 20th century, and always rather intrigued me, so I enjoyed getting to know her a little. She comes across as a believable and likeable person, as do her more conventional (if shadowy) sisters.

Most of Sally Quilford’s light crime novellas have a low-key romance, and I rather like the resultant mixture; however in this one, despite discussions of infidelities and potential suitors, Peg is single and remains so.

My biggest problem with this book is the sheer number of characters. There are villagers, and visitors; shop-keepers and elderly gossipping women. I read the book over just three days; it’s not long, and I found it quite engaging. But other than two or three significant people, I lost track almost entirely of who was whom. That wouldn’t matter so much in a different genre, but in crime fiction I like to be able to work out at least a potential candidate for ‘whodunit’.

In this book, however, I didn’t really have much idea of what was going on. There's no obvious motive for the crimes committed, no trail of false clues, and not many real clues either, other than a few references to similarities - or otherwise - between family members. When the perpetrator is revealed, it made sense to me, but I didn’t have any gradual feeling of revelation. There’s another twist too, which I thought was clever but also a bit disappointing.

Still, I’m glad I read this; it makes a good background to the ‘Midchester memories’ series. I gather there will be other novellas specifically about Peg, and look forward to reading them.

'The doctor's daughter' is available inexpensively in Kindle form on both sides of the Atlantic, and should also now be available in large print hardback.

Review bcopyright 2015 Sue's Book Reviews

A place of peace (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

The author Sally Quilford is a prolific writer of both short stories and novellas. Many of the latter are first published as supplements to women’s magazines, but sooner or later she releases them, inexpensively, for the Kindle. From time to time her books are offered on Amazon as free downloads; I took advantage of this last year to acquire a few more.

Novellas - rather shorter than standard novels - make ideal reading for a flight. So having finished one short ebook on a recent trip to the UK, I flicked through my Kindle unread books, and opted for ‘A place of peace’ which is described as a ‘romantic summer mystery'.

The story is about Nell Palmer, a young British woman who is taking part in a house-swap scheme over the summer. We meet her as she is being shown over a large and attractive house on an island off the coast of New England. Colm, brother of the house’s owner, is doing the showing. It’s pretty clear from the start that there’s going to be some kind of romantic attachment between the two.

I found the first pages of this book a little slow-moving, but other characters are quickly introduced: in particular a jealous neighbour, Julia, who appears to consider Colm her property despite the fact that she is married to someone else. Julia’s husband Mike is not in great health and she comes across as impatient and unfeeling, as well as a potential threat to Nell.

We also learn that there’s something of a mystery to Nell’s past: she hasn’t just come to New England for a holiday. Instead, she is apparently running away from a highly stressful situation back home, where it seems that she made a bad judgement and stirred up a great deal of unpleasantness....

As ever, Sally Quilford has created three-dimensional and distinctive characters whose personalities shine through what is, in places, a rather melodramatic plot. I had to suspend reality a little here and there, but it didn’t matter - by the time I was half-way through I was hooked. The pace is excellent and kept me reading this so that I finished it without a break, despite the discomfort of airline seats. There are surprises, high drama, and some unexpected twists and turns in the plot as well as the comfortably predictable ending.

I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting quite such a strong crime fiction plot with the romance taking second place; but once I'd realised that this was the genre, it wasn’t a problem. The writing is good, free from the bad language and explicit scenes that spoil so many books these days, and while some of the events are unpleasant, there’s no gore or gratuitous violence.

All in all, I would recommend this as a good, light read. Only available in Kindle form, inexpensively, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's Book Reviews

The steps of the priory (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I’ve known Sally Quilford online for some years now. She’s quite a prolific writer of short stories and pocket novellas, which she publishes on Kindle. She sometimes makes her books available free to download on special occasions.

‘The steps of the priory’ is her longest work to date, a full-length novel and the first in a series (although she has not yet written the sequel). It’s a historical saga, set over about thirty years, beginning in 1917 and ending just after the second World War. I downloaded it for my Kindle a couple of years ago and read it recently, while visiting relatives.

The opening sequence to this book sees the teenage Becky running through the streets with her friend Jed, clutching a bundle which we quickly realise is a baby. She drops it on the steps of the Priory, owned by the Harcourt family, in the hope that they - or perhaps one of their servants - will take the baby in and look after him.

Charles Harcourt and his drug-addicted sister Patricia come across the baby, and Patricia decides to adopt him after losing her own baby. But they tell nobody, and she claims to have had her child elsewhere, so no connection is made by any of the characters until quite a way through the novel…

Becky’s home life is miserable, and it rapidly gets worse; however she has plenty of friends. And here’s where my only real problem with this novel lies: there are a lot of characters, and I found it difficult to keep track of who is whom. I read this book over just a few days (it was hard to put down at times) so it wasn’t as if I had forgotten the story. But although the names and circumstances are different, I simply couldn’t remember who was married (or in love with, or parents of) whom, other than the main protagonists. Sally Quilford has quite a gift of characterisation, and some of her people - Becky in particular - stand out as believable and memorable. But there are a lot of minor characters, mostly men, who were almost indistinguishable to me.

Still, the story moves at a great pace, with transitions in time handled well without jarring. It's a good story, and the plot lines all tie together nicely. I had guessed most of what was revealed in the final pages, but that didn’t matter; it was quite satisfying to find that I was right, and had spotted some subtle clues that others might have missed.

If I’m being picky, there’s one subplot (involving a most unpleasant doctor) which didn’t really seem to fit with the rest of the book. And there’s rather too much description of intimate details for my tastes. It’s mostly not too sordid and doesn’t go on for too long, but means I have to be a little careful about who I recommend it to.

However, these are minor gripes; on the whole I thought this a very good read, and look forward to a sequel.

Note that the link above is to the Kindle edition. It's no longer free but very reasonably priced. There is also a newly published large print version which is quite expensive but may be available in libraries.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

Our day will come (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

The author Sally Quilford is quite a prolific writer of novellas, many of them published as 'pocket reads' connected with magazines in the UK. She has made them all available inexpensively for the Kindle, and from time to time offers various titles free. This is one that I downloaded on special offer over a year ago, but have only just finished reading.

'Our day will come' is part of a series of mid-20th century mysteries set in the fictional village of Midchester. This one is set in 1944, a little earlier than the other two I had previously read, and is somewhat lighter in tone. It begins with the strange disappearance of stockings from people's washing lines, right under their noses. Nobody likes to make an official report, in case it's just someone playing a joke.

Betty, the pub landlord's daughter, gets into conversation with the elderly Peg who keeps an eye on everyone and is reputed to have been quite a sleuth in her younger days. Peg thinks someone should investigate these thefts and take them rather more seriously, as they seem to be increasing.

There are some recuperating American airmen in a hospital nearby, one of whom finds Betty very attractive. She likes him too, but feels obligated to stay faithful to the memory of Eddie, her best friend from childhood, who asked her to wait for him before he went off to war. He has been missing in action for a couple of years but his parents are convinced he is still alive...

There are several other threads, nicely intertwined in this short book. I thought I would read a chapter each day over breakfast, but several times found myself continuing to read, as I enjoyed it very much. Sally Quilford has quite a gift of characterisation, bringing her people to life so realistically that several of them got right under my skin. There's a large cast; along with a variety of subplots it could have been confusing, but somehow wasn't. The background of a small village during World War II is nicely painted, too, introducing a bit of social history without making me feel as if I were being educated.

I was expecting something of a whodunit, although it's not my preferred genre; however, this book is more of a light romance in a historical context. The stocking mystery (and related incidents later on) is referred to several times through the book, but the investigation is minimal, and the solution when it comes is a bit of an anticlimax. I had not guessed who the perpetrator was, but by that stage it had almost become an irrelevance. Not that it mattered - I was so much more interested in the various relationships in the book.

The ending was nicely predictable; I was only sorry it finished so quickly.

Recommended as a light character-based read, but don't expect an Agatha Christie style mystery.

'Our day will come' is available inexpensively in Kindle form on both sides of the Atlantic. Paperback editions, however, are hard to find and second-hand editions sell at high prices in the UK, even higher in the US.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

Loving Protector (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I have already enjoyed four novellas by Sally Quilford on my Kindle, so was delighted when she offered another one free for a couple of days in December. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect as this is not her usual genre. I'm a great fan of the Regency romance genre as epitomised by Georgette Heyer, but tend to find other authors rather lacking in authenticity.

Moreover, reviews of 'Loving Protector' were very mixed on the US Amazon site. So it was with some trepidation that I began reading - only to find myself drawn into the story almost immediately.

Calista Haywood is the heroine. We meet her en route to London with her widowed stepmother, and her step-sister Blanche. Blanche is outspoken and selfish, which contrasts strongly with Calista’s more generous, sweet nature. Blanche hopes to find a rich husband, preferably with a title, and can't understand why Calista had to come with them at all.

There’s high drama right at the start of the book, and the hero introduced in literal heroic mode. Clearly he and Calista are going to end up together. However, this story doesn’t just follow the standard Regency romance formula: there’s some mystery surrounding Blanche’s birth which is only gradually revealed, and also we overhear some violent threats, which appear to be followed up later on...

Sally Quilford has done her research well; I think some of the negative reviews were from readers who were not accustomed to the genre, or who objected to British spelling. While this book does not have quite the naturally flowing authenticity of Georgette Heyer, it reads realistically, on the whole, with few - if any - anachronisms. It was certainly much better written than several other books I have read in this genre in recent years.

More significantly, the characters of Calista and Blanche are very nicely drawn, as is that of Evelyn, Blanche’s mother. I was a little puzzled as to how such a likeable, gentle mother could have raised such an unpleasant daughter, but liked the contrast with the 'Cinderella' theme: the stepsister is considered a great beauty, and the stepmother is very fond of the heroine.

My biggest problem with this book is that it’s too short. There were, I felt, sufficient subplots and themes to have made this a full-length novel; as it was, some plot threads are resolved far too quickly, and in the later part of the book, when Calista takes centre stage, Blanche almost vanishes from the scene - we only learn in passing what she has been doing. I would love to have read more about her and her reactions to Calista's engagement.

My other slight problem is that I began to find Calista a bit irritating after a while; she gets it into her head that the hero does not love her, despite every effort on his behalf to show that he does. She is supposed to be intelligent, and she appears to be quite empathic where her stepmother and aunt are concerned; she even seems to understand Blanche quite well.

But she apparently has a total blind spot as far as the hero is concerned, and spends a lot of time introspecting about how unhappy she is. It didn’t ring true; but perhaps this is related, also to the length. Had the novel been longer, there could have been incidents that drew them apart for a while, or genuine misunderstandings that could have made her conviction more believable.

Still, overall I thought it a pleasant light read, and look forward to more in this genre.

Only currently available in Kindle form, although it should soon be available as a large print hardback.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's Book Reviews

Bonfire Memories (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

I've had an online acquaintanceship with Sally Quilford for a few years now. She's quite a prolific writer, mostly of novellas in various genres, which she makes available inexpensively for the Kindle. She offered several of them free for download briefly a few months ago, so I leapt at the opportunity.

'Bonfire Memories' is part of the crime fiction series set in the fictional town of Midchester.  I'm not a huge fan of crime fiction in general, although I enjoy the occasional Agatha Christie. Sally's books have a light touch and romantic themes running through them.  I had previously read and enjoyed another of this series - 'True Love Ways' - so was looking forward to this.

At the start of the book, someone - we don’t learn their name until nearly the end of the book - is waiting in a pub in Midchester in 1946. A young woman walks in, and the two speak briefly in their own tongue - evidently German - and arrange to meet elsewhere. Clearly they have been lovers... perhaps they will be again. But there’s something very chilling about this introduction.

The narrative then leaps forward twenty years, and we meet Guy Sullivan. He's a film star who is staying in Midchester to have a break. An eager young journalist called Cara arrives to interview him, and he gives the kind of answers he thinks her readers will like, while evidently keeping a great deal secret. He’s surprised to find that he’s quite attracted to Cara, since he’s not a fan of journalists in general.

The story continues, switching between the two viewpoints, with the majority of the action taking place in 1966. Cara is supposed to be organising the village bonfire for Guy Fawkes’ Day, but has never much liked the celebration; gradually an unpleasant memory from her past surfaces, when the first murder takes place in the village... and then everyone is under suspicion.

There were a few more shocks than I'm totally comfortable with, but nothing really gory, and slightly to my surprise I found myself liking this book very much. There’s a gentle ongoing romance blossoming, albeit a little predictable, which takes the edge of the crime. There are also several past secrets unfolding, which are evidently connected somehow with the increasingly nasty voice from 1946 which joins the narrative every so often in Italic font, making it easy to spot.

Perhaps the main plot was a little far-fetched, but it was all extremely cleverly written, with different storylines unfolding together and the past and present coming together subtly. There were hints as to the possible identity of the voice from the past, but it took me a long time to figure out who it was - and although I was thinking along the right lines by the time the name was revealed, I had not latched onto the right person.

The writing is crisp, and while this is a short book (a novella rather than a novel) which does not give time for much depth of characterisation, I found myself liking Cara very much, and was quite keen on Guy too. I was also pleased to see some references to the local Vicar and his wife Meredith, who featured in 'True Love Ways'. I look forward to reading more in this series in the future.

Definitely recommended if you have a Kindle.

Review copyright suesbookreviews, March 2013