Victoria Williamson
Publication Date: 1/12/23
Publisher: Silver Thistle Press
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SYNOPSIS
The War is over, but for petty criminal Charlie his darkest days are only just beginning.
Charlie Briggs is never off-duty, even when a botched job means he’s forced to lay low in a sleepy Hampshire town for the holiday season. Always searching for his next unwitting victim, or a shiny trinket he can pilfer, he can’t believe his luck when he happens upon a rare book so valuable it will set him up for life. All he needs to do is sit tight until Boxing Day. But there’s a desperate story that bleeds beyond the pages; something far more dangerous than London’s mobsters is lurking in the shadows.
Could the book be cursed? Why is he haunted by the horrors of war? Can he put things right before he’s suffocated by his own greed?
MY REVIEW
At just under 100 pages, this is a novella to read in one sitting. Which is good as you won’t be able to put it down.
Set just after the end of the Great War. Charlie Briggs, who didn’t serve in the war, is a cunning small time thief. Lying low in a town away from London where he is a wanted man. Dressed as a gentleman, with stolen accessories, he manages to get into a bookshop looking for a book he can steal to sell on. He doesn’t expect to find a rare and very valuable book right in front of his nose. And he definitely doesn’t expect the book to be haunted.
We follow Charlie as he guards the book with his life, whilst trying to evade a ghostly figure. He only has to get through the next few days until his acquaintance can pick him up.
Is he imagining the war scenes he finds himself in the middle of? And what about the choking fog which appears from nowhere? And the poppies growing where they shouldn’t at this time of year?
Such a spooky read! Brilliantly written as I was absorbed in the story from the first page.
Thank you to the author for my copy to read and review on the blog tour.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victoria Williamson grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, and has worked as an educator in a number of different countries, including as an English teacher in China, a secondary science teacher in Cameroon, and a teacher trainer in Malawi.
As well as degrees in Physics and Mandarin Chinese, she has completed a Masters degree in Special Needs in Education. In the UK she works as a primary school special needs teacher, working with children with a range of additional support needs including Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, physical disabilities and behavioural problems.
She is currently working as a full time writer of Middle Grade and YA contemporary fiction, science fiction and fantasy, with a focus on creating diverse characters reflecting the many cultural backgrounds and special needs of the children she has worked with, and building inclusive worlds where all children can see a reflection of themselves in heroic roles.
Victoria’s experiences teaching young children in a school with many families seeking asylum inspired her debut novel, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, an uplifting tale of redemption and unlikely friendship between Glaswegian bully Caylin and Syrian refugee Reema.
Twenty percent of her author royalties for The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle are donated to the Scottish Refugee Council.
You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and upcoming events on her website: http://www.strangelymagical.com
Two Heads Are Better Than One 