Book Review

There’s a particular pleasure in reading a fiction that is set in a location you know well. It’s also true that it’s interesting to visit a place that has provided the setting for a story you have enjoyed in the past.

I lived in Barrow for many years and worked in Mountsorrel for a time, so when I read ‘Ethereal Tenant’ by Kay Nicholl, there were lots of places I recognised and it definitely added to my enjoyment of the book. The author was born and bred in Barrow although she has lived in Cornwall and Surrey since then, before settling in North Devon. Reading her novel, there are lots of clues that Barrow remains close to her heart, although there are also some hints that she has not always approved of new developments (see page 3).

Given the title of the book, I was expecting a ghost story of sorts but the central idea (which I won’t give away – I’m avoiding spoilers!) is so unusual it defies an easy description. It certainly involves the supernatural and some of the themes are quite dark. The narrator of the story is Jack Latimer, who has seen the worst and the best of people in his 25 years working as a policeman in New York. Now retired he has returned to his roots in Leicestershire and it is here that he meets Adam Rowe, a troubled teenager badly in need of help and advice.

The story he tells is complicated and there were times when I felt a little confused by the intricacy of the plot and the complexity of the narrative, but the idea was so intriguing I was determined to find out what happened. Not all of the story is set in Leicestershire. Adam spends several years in London. He returns to Barrow on a Sunday, arriving at the station. Those of us who use Barrow station know there are no trains on Sundays of course. Does that minor detail spoil the story? Not at all. I understand the book will be available in Barrow library and I’m sure it will prove to be popular.

I wonder if there will be a sequel.
Julie Gardner