Written by Dave Holwill🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
|
My thanks to author Dave Holwill, and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to join the blog tour and a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The blurb:
Sylvia Blackwell is tired. Her grandchildren are being kept away from her, and the expected inheritance that might finally get her middle-aged son to move out has failed to materialise – thanks to her mother's cat. It is becoming increasingly difficult to remain composed. On a romantic clifftop walk for her 47th Wedding Anniversary, an unexpected opportunity leads to a momentous decision that will irretrievably change the course of her life.
The Craft Room is a darkly comic tale of sex, crepe paper, murder and knitting in a sleepy Devon town, with a 'truly original' premise and genuinely jaw-dropping moments. What would you do if unexpectedly freed from bondage you never knew you were in? How would your children cope? How far would you go to protect them from an uncomfortable truth? You can only push a grandmother so far...
Black Comedy
Crime Fiction
My thoughts:
Dave Holwill is a new-to-me author, and I was very excited to join this tour having read the blurb. The story centres on Sylvia Blackwell, a middle-aged, devoted mother and grandmother.
Sylvia's selfish husband, Ron, pays her little attention, and her wimp of a son, Robert, has been living with his parents in their small, down-sized house since his marriage break-up several years earlier. Although Sylvia loves having her son back at home, the house is not really big enough for the three of them.
Sylvia is being prevented from having contact with her grandchildren by her daughter-in-law, for whom she has no liking.
Sylvia has always had a cat, more because Ron has foisted an unwelcome replacement on her, as soon as the last unfortunate cat has departed. For the most part, these cats are nasty, vicious creatures, but recently she has acquired a lovely natured four-legged friend, of whom she is very fond.
As Sylvia's elderly mother is taking her last breaths in hospital, Sylvia considers how welcome her inheritance will be, once the old lady dies - she will be able to help her son move into a place of his own and recover the bedroom he is occupying for her craft room.
I have great sympathy for Sylvia. She comes across as one of those 'done unto' women who just accepts their lot in life. She has always been the dutiful wife and mother and her only request is to have a little room to herself for her craft activities. When her son finally moves out, and Ron claims the now spare room for himself, she just carries on as she always has done, until an opportunity for her to make big changes in her life arises. And after that she is determined to enjoy the rest of life, and there's no stopping her!
A brilliantly engaging read from start to finish which I found difficult to put down. It is well-written and the characters are all very believable. This is a dark comedy which had me smiling right to the end. The Craft Room is Holwill's second novel, following on from Weekend Rockstars, which is now on my Most-Wanted list.
| Author Bio – Dave Holwill |
|---|
 Dave Holwill was born in Guildford in 1977 and quickly decided that he preferred the Westcountry – moving to Devon in 1983 (with some input from his parents). After an expensive (and possibly wasted) education there, he has worked variously as a postman, a framer, and a print department manager (though if you are the only person in the department then can you really be called a manager?) all whilst continuing to play in every kind of band imaginable on most instruments you can think of. His debut novel, Weekend Rockstars, was published in August 2016 to favourable reviews and his second The Craft Room (a very dark comedy concerning death through misadventure) came out in August 2017. He is currently in editing hell with the third. |
| Social Media Links – | |
| Blog | http://davedoesntwriteanythingever.blogspot.com/ |
| https://www.instagram.com/dave_holwill/ | |
| Goodreads | Dave Holwill |
| Facebook Author Page | Dave Holwill |
| X | https://twitter.com/daveholwill |
No comments:
Post a Comment