Izzy Dane, aged sixteen, was in a car which crashed on the
driveway of a large house in the English countryside. The
village of Halfhidden, Lancashire, lost one young person
that night and three more young lives were affected. Years
later, Izzy is in an engagement with an Oxford doctor she
doesn't really know all that well, having worked overseas
in textiles and non-profits, when she returns. CREATURE
COMFORTS are to the fore.
Debo who is Izzy's aunt runs a perpetually underfunded dog
rescue centre, and Izzy goes to stay here, since her
parents have died and their home has been sold. Izzy's
already had a wake-up call about her fiancé Kieran's
father. Relations are frosty. At this point I found it
awkward for the reader that the characters all talk about
various issues concerning the past - including that past
car crash, which Izzy can't remember, and an unknown heir
to someone else. It's natural that Izzy should want to
catch up on all the local gossip, but to us newcomers it's
just a string of names at first, though with charmingly
cutting remarks added. A hotel runs haunted weekends and
Izzy's pal Lulu wants to expand this to longer haunted
holidays. Izzy volunteers to help with organising the dog
rescue centre more efficiently while she's establishing a
fabric business.
The descriptions of the village are intense and evocative,
from lichen-scabbed gateposts to opening spring flowers
and
Portmeirion pottery plates. As is often the case, the big
dogs are the ones which are dumped to rescue centres; a
gorgeous Newfoundland is one. There are plans aplenty to
attract tourism. Rufus Carlyle, antique dealer, is a
newcomer, the unexpected heir mentioned above, and he
seems
to be putting a spoke in a few wheels, but actually his
relative Dan has been feeding him unflattering information
about everyone... all the gossip in this village seems
pointed, nasty and divisive. So much of it dates back to
that car crash which Izzy is only now starting to
remember... is there some hidden truth which others would
prefer not to emerge?
With some gorgeous recipes such as cinnamon and sultana
swirls, CREATURE COMFORTS will make a lot of friends. We
meet
engaging or surly characters, visit historic and charm-
filled landscapes, take a trip back to the fateful night
when Izzy was injured and the dynamics of the village
changed forever. Will the truth bring her happiness or
destroy her newfound friendships? Stroll along to
Halfhidden and enter a story of determination, character
growth and learning the true nature of love. English
author Trisha Ashley is a Sunday Times best-selling
author,
with several other titles of modern women's fiction to her
credit. If you enjoy CREATURE COMFORTS you can look out
for
many more great stories.
Fall in back in love with life in this gripping read about
fate and second chances.
The eagerly awaited new novel from the Sunday Times
bestselling author.
Izzy has broken off her engagement to her feckless fiancée
Kieran and returned to her childhood home – the sleepy
village of Halfhidden.
She soon realizes that life in the village is anything but
peaceful – for one thing she’s living with her mad aunt
Debo and her pack of dogs, and for another, Izzy has a lot
of unanswered questions.
When she was a teenager, Izzy was involved in a terrible
accident, involving various inhabitants of Halfhidden. As
she sets out to discover what actually happened on the
night of the accident, she realizes that her painful past
is actually standing in the way of her future happiness.
So when a handsome stranger comes to Halfhidden will she
let love back into her life?
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