Tiger Sky

by Rachel Billington

Eight years after sentence, Joe Feather returns to the village where he murdered his lover after finding her in bed with her ex-husband. The only people on his side are a handful of women using their good deed with Joe as a way of working through their own problems.

352 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 1999

About the author

Rachel Billington has written twenty one novels and eleven books for children. She is also a journalist, feature writer and reviewer. She is a regular contributor and Associate Editor of Inside Time, the national newspaper for prisoners and a Vice-President of English PEN. In 2012 she was awarded an OBE for Services to Literature.

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farmer Joe Feather, a very attractive but not very bright "gentle giant", doesn't realise his own strength and strangles his girlfriend after finding her in bed with her ex-husband. He is jailed for life. When released on licence he goes back to his farm but is shunned by villagers who have known him all his life. He is supported by three women - his probation officer, a prison visitor and a journalist - but they all have their own agendas and in the end fail him.

I loved this book - despite what he'd done, my heart ached for poor Joe and I was infuriated by the narrow-minded, bigoted villagers. Beautifully written and very moving.