True Colours

by Sue Haasler

Last Reach Point lighthouse on the beautiful Northlands coast has been home to the Jackson family for years. Now it's nearly toppling into the sea and Beth Jackson must find a new home for her aging father and her teenage son. A chance meeting with Gareth Dakers, the smooth local politician, leads to an unusual offer. He suggests Beth and her family move to his North London flat. Beth is reluctant to leave the rural idyll of Last Reach, but with little chance of finding either a job or a new home in Northlands, she knows she has no choice. As Beth and her family square up the challenges their new life in the city offers, Beth begins to realize that there's more to Dakers' generous offer than meets the eye.

416 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 2004

About the author

I'm a British author of contemporary and (recent) historical fiction, but have recently taken a detour into non-fiction by writing the official BBC Holby City tie-in book, 'Holby City: Behind the Screen.'

My new novel 'Half A World Away' (set in East Berlin before the Wall came down) is published by The Dome Press.

I'm currently working on a mystery/thriller set in the fashion world of 1960s London.

Reviews

[Diana Hockley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up True Colours at the library - it is not in e-book - parked it down beside the bed in the "ready to read" heap and finally got to it the other night.

The plot is set on the Northlands coast, a remote and beautiful part of Britain where widowed Beth, her father Bill and her son Danny are horrified to discover that a wild storm has collapsed the cliff edge within metres of which they live. The now automated lighthouse in which her father worked while Beth was growing up, may soon follow unless something is done to save the land. The cottages which were used by the lighthouse keepers are now bed and breakfast establishments and are the family's only income. Things are looking desperate when Gareth Dakers and his spin-doctor, Finn, arrive in the district to drum up votes for Parliament.

How Gareth manages to get himself into trouble by inviting the family down to London in an over-generous bid to win votes, and how Beth and the family cope with the city is the plot of this delightful novel.

Sue Haasler has crafted lively characters with believable quirks. Her heroine, Beth, is a warm, generous woman who believes the best about people, even Gareth and his lonely, beautiful, over-pampered wife, Lorelei. Unlikely friendships are formed amid skulduggery by ambitious members of the press and the secrets which come to light. The story is laced with delightfully sly humour and Beth finds love in the most unexpected place. The ending is most satisfying.

Highly recommended!

[Biliwiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read, believable characters and well-written.

[JenniferB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written but a little cliched (romance)