By Matthew Hall

Publication Date: 21/5/26
Publisher: Eye Books
SYNOPSIS
The day Jessie Cunningham achieves her life’s goal and is made partner in an ultra-powerful Toronto law firm, she suffers a catastrophic burnout. While attempting to recuperate, she volunteers for a charity preserving ancient trees in the wilderness of British Columbia. There she meets Todd Samson, a man with a troubled past and a wounded soul.
The attraction is instant, but they’re from different worlds… that are about to collide.
When Todd is falsely accused of murdering a local conservation officer and his beleaguered community in the Three Valleys Reserve comes under pressure from the government to swap its ancestral territory for land on the outskirts of Vancouver, Jessie is drawn into their struggle against greed, corruption and injustice.
Forming an unlikely alliance with Chief Ray Squinas and wood carver and shaman Eldon Marshall, Jessie joins them in the fight of their lives – against just the kind of dark forces she has spent her career serving.
MY REVIEW
This is one of those books which comes along now and again and completely absorbs me into the storyline and the characters. What a brilliant read I loved every page.
What is initially a voluntary position for Jessie Cunningham, staying in a basic hut a world away from her usual life and recording ancient trees on land inhabited by an indigenous tribe, soon turns into a need to put her lawyer hat back on. So much for leaving everything behind for a while.
A woman is murdered and Todd, a local man with whom Jessie platonically shared a cabin one night after twisting her ankle, has been arrested for her murder.
Jessie promises to help his appointed lawyer prove his innocence, but she has no idea that this is just the tip of the iceberg and her own life and career are put in danger.
The descriptions of the wilderness, the people and their history had me totally enthralled. I could visualise that beautiful Totem pole being carved by Eldon, a talented wood carver and shaman.
Should they accept an offered ‘land swap’ to move from their ancestral valley to a new residential area near Toronto?
If you love a deep and meaningful read, one where you are drawn into the story completely, I would highly recommend this one. So far it is my book of the year and it’s going to take something exceptional to top it!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matthew Hall is novelist and multi-award winning screenwriter. He was educated at Hereford Cathedral School and Worcester College, Oxford, where he graduated in law.
He has written over 60 hours of prime-time drama and in 2018 won a BAFTA for his most recent hit series, Keeping Faith (BBC1/S4C).
He has written 7 novels and a novella in his Jenny Cooper Coroner series. The Coroner and The Flight were both shortlisted for the Crime Writer’s Association Gold Dagger.
The Jenny Cooper novels have been adapted for television by the Toronto-based Back Alley Films. The series was CBC’s highest ranking show of 2019 and Universal UK TV’s highest ranking new drama release. ‘Coroner’ is distributed internationally by Cineflix/NBC Universal.
Seasons 1 and 2 premier in the US on The CW from August 2020.
He lives in Herefordshire with his wife Patricia Carswell and they have two sons.
Find out more at http://www.matthewhallbooks.com






















