Family Matters

by Christine Campbell

Sarah’s husband, Tom, disappeared without trace eleven years ago. Now her son, David, has died. Tom appears at David’s funeral and tries to reestablish contact, which Sarah refuses but Kate, her daughter, accepts. The growing closeness between Kate and her father worries Sarah because she believes that Tom is dishonest and unreliable. Then Sarah finds David’s diary and follows the steps he took in search of his father. It becomes a journey of what she uncovers forces Sarah to reassess her view of herself, her origins and her certainties. A relationship novel, but also a detection novel with a difference; this story traces a woman’s drive to uncover and understand the truth about a family she thought she knew… her own. A novel that deals with grief, loyalty, love and acceptance. Although it begins with a funeral and deals with its aftermath, this is a novel of hope and recovery as well as a putting of things to rights.

284 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2008

About the author

Hi! I’m Christine Campbell and I’m a writer.

There! I stood in the middle of the circle and owned up. I am a writer: a novelist, in particular. I write contemporary fiction: strongly character-based, relationship novels…with a smidgen of romance and a generous dusting of mystery and detection.

I have learned a lot about my craft since that wonderful night when I held my first completed, printed manuscript novel in my arms. My first book-baby.

I have now had seven novels published. It’s so exciting when your book-babies grow up and leave home. As mother of five grown-up, married children and ten grandchildren, I know a lot about babies growing up and leaving home!

Reviews

[Wendy Janes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah struggles to cope with life after the sudden death of her son, David. She thought they’d been close, but he’d kept many secrets from her, not only about his drug use, but also the fact that he’d been searching for his father, Tom, who had walked out on the family eleven years previously. On her daughter’s insistence Sarah invites Tom to his son’s funeral and sets in motion a journey that reveals more secrets, some that stretch back through the generations.

It felt like a breath of fresh air to read a story set before it was possible to locate someone at the click of a mouse. Sarah turns detective to try and find out what happened to David, and, as David did before her, uses the good old-fashioned telephone directory and records kept on microfiche. Her research leads her to locate long-lost family members, and she uncovers far more than she’d bargained for.

Sarah is an interesting character. She’s a kind-hearted and loving person, although there is something prim and reserved in her manner. The author has created a thoroughly realistic individual who readers will feel a connection with. Sarah’s relationships with her brother, Robert, her daughter, Kate, and particularly with Tom are described well.

This book has clearly been carefully plotted. The twists are good, but perhaps a little too obviously signalled in places. The strong Glaswegian accents in some of the later scenes are very entertaining, and make these characters come alive.

Some books shout their story at you, this one tells its story with an assured voice that doesn’t need to shout. I’d like to read more by this author.

[Christine Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won't write a review of this book, since I wrote it, but I do hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you!