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Shadows in the Rock: A young woman faces her parent's past in the emotional final book of the Aphrodite Trilogy
The third book in the revised edition of The Aphrodite Trilogy
“I remember that day you told me everything as if it was yesterday; the shock, the disbelief and the fear. I didn’t understand then, but I do now. We are the same, you and I. We live in the now, but the past is always there … buried in shadows.”
England 2015
Abi is on the brink of life; she wants to leave home and country life and strike out as a fashion photographer in London. The shadows of her parents’ past have haunted her; she needs to find out who she really is.
Life is London proves to be far more challenging than she imagined though. Abi ends up working for a nightmare boss and in a foreshadowing of the #metoo era, she encounters bullying and sexual harassment. On a shoot in Cyprus, she experiences both the worst and the best that life has to offer, forcing her to grow up and face the truth about her background. She learns to forgive both herself and her mother and face her future with confidence.
“The book presents us with the next generation facing the consequences of the actions and events of the previous generation and gives a sensitive and touching understanding of acceptance and forgiveness.”
“The descriptive passages of glorious Cyprus and Cornwall, are captivating, enveloping you in their beauty.”
“This instantly grabs your emotions and you become immersed in Abi's experiences and emotional turmoil. A book that keeps you totally involved to the very end. A great read.”
“I remember that day you told me everything as if it was yesterday; the shock, the disbelief and the fear. I didn’t understand then, but I do now. We are the same, you and I. We live in the now, but the past is always there … buried in shadows.”
England 2015
Abi is on the brink of life; she wants to leave home and country life and strike out as a fashion photographer in London. The shadows of her parents’ past have haunted her; she needs to find out who she really is.
Life is London proves to be far more challenging than she imagined though. Abi ends up working for a nightmare boss and in a foreshadowing of the #metoo era, she encounters bullying and sexual harassment. On a shoot in Cyprus, she experiences both the worst and the best that life has to offer, forcing her to grow up and face the truth about her background. She learns to forgive both herself and her mother and face her future with confidence.
“The book presents us with the next generation facing the consequences of the actions and events of the previous generation and gives a sensitive and touching understanding of acceptance and forgiveness.”
“The descriptive passages of glorious Cyprus and Cornwall, are captivating, enveloping you in their beauty.”
“This instantly grabs your emotions and you become immersed in Abi's experiences and emotional turmoil. A book that keeps you totally involved to the very end. A great read.”
276 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 4, 2017
40 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Catherine Knights
18 books14 followersSarah Catherine Knights is a British novelist, short story writer and photographer. She has written five novels: the Aphrodite Trilogy, made up of Aphrodite’s Child, Now is All There Is and Shadows in the Rock and also the standalone novel, Love is a State of Mind. Her latest novel, Life Happens was published on May 26th, 2022. This is also a standalone novel but she is thinking about a sequel. She is also working on a collection of short stories.
Sarah has lived in the beautiful town of Malmesbury since 1985. She came to Wiltshire, like so many others, because her husband was in the Royal Air Force at Lyneham.
Sarah’s main interest is obviously writing but she reads avidly and always has a book on the go: Clare Chambers, Ann Tyler, Kristin Hannah, Elif Shafak, Matt Haig, Jeanine Cummins, Meg Mason are just a few of the authors she’s read in the last few months. She also loves modern music and listens to Coldplay, Sam Smith, Billie Eilish, Tom Walker, George Michael and Ed Sheeran, just to name a few! On the active side, she loves walking, swimming (in the sea if possible, but she does lengths in the pool to keep fit) and going to the gym; she spends hours ambling through the surrounding fields with her black labrador, Mabel and as she walks, she thinks about her next writing project. Sarah’s always had dogs and couldn’t imagine life without one.
Sarah studied English Literature at Birmingham University from 1972 to 1975, did a postgraduate certificate of teaching immediately afterwards and went on to do a Creative Writing MA at Bath Spa University in 2012. It was here that she started writing her debut novel, 'Aphrodite's Child' which was self-published at the beginning of 2014.
The story grew out of the family's posting to Cyprus with the RAF in the early nineties. While there, Sarah realised it would make a great setting for a novel – with its microcosm of English life, the camp was a strange place to live. At that time, there was little or no communication with the UK and being somewhat cut off from the island too, life inside the camp became intensified. It sometimes felt like a prolonged Mediterranean holiday with dramas thrown in. It was easy to dream up a fictional storyline.
Having been an English teacher of both secondary level children and foreign business people, Sarah has now retired to concentrate on photography and writing. Her three children have flown the nest but often come home for chaotic weekends of dog walks, laughter and noisy meals around the large kitchen table. Her oldest daughter now lives in San Fransisco with her husband and three young children so they were sorely missed during the pandemic. Sarah and husband Peter have visited several times and can’t wait to go back. Her son lives in London and is a photographer and musician and her youngest daughter lives in Brighton and is about to become a detective.
The whole family, especially Peter her husband, have been very supportive and patient with Sarah's late career change as a novelist, always willing to help with the plot or reading a new draft.
Sarah regrets not finding writing earlier in life but is certainly making up for lost time now.
Sarah has lived in the beautiful town of Malmesbury since 1985. She came to Wiltshire, like so many others, because her husband was in the Royal Air Force at Lyneham.
Sarah’s main interest is obviously writing but she reads avidly and always has a book on the go: Clare Chambers, Ann Tyler, Kristin Hannah, Elif Shafak, Matt Haig, Jeanine Cummins, Meg Mason are just a few of the authors she’s read in the last few months. She also loves modern music and listens to Coldplay, Sam Smith, Billie Eilish, Tom Walker, George Michael and Ed Sheeran, just to name a few! On the active side, she loves walking, swimming (in the sea if possible, but she does lengths in the pool to keep fit) and going to the gym; she spends hours ambling through the surrounding fields with her black labrador, Mabel and as she walks, she thinks about her next writing project. Sarah’s always had dogs and couldn’t imagine life without one.
Sarah studied English Literature at Birmingham University from 1972 to 1975, did a postgraduate certificate of teaching immediately afterwards and went on to do a Creative Writing MA at Bath Spa University in 2012. It was here that she started writing her debut novel, 'Aphrodite's Child' which was self-published at the beginning of 2014.
The story grew out of the family's posting to Cyprus with the RAF in the early nineties. While there, Sarah realised it would make a great setting for a novel – with its microcosm of English life, the camp was a strange place to live. At that time, there was little or no communication with the UK and being somewhat cut off from the island too, life inside the camp became intensified. It sometimes felt like a prolonged Mediterranean holiday with dramas thrown in. It was easy to dream up a fictional storyline.
Having been an English teacher of both secondary level children and foreign business people, Sarah has now retired to concentrate on photography and writing. Her three children have flown the nest but often come home for chaotic weekends of dog walks, laughter and noisy meals around the large kitchen table. Her oldest daughter now lives in San Fransisco with her husband and three young children so they were sorely missed during the pandemic. Sarah and husband Peter have visited several times and can’t wait to go back. Her son lives in London and is a photographer and musician and her youngest daughter lives in Brighton and is about to become a detective.
The whole family, especially Peter her husband, have been very supportive and patient with Sarah's late career change as a novelist, always willing to help with the plot or reading a new draft.
Sarah regrets not finding writing earlier in life but is certainly making up for lost time now.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 28, 2020
Absolutely brilliant - read all the trilogy in a few days
Having lived at Akrotiri as a teenager for 3 years and now having lived in Cyprus for the last 10 years I have thoroughly loved these books. Makes me realise how fortunate I am to live here. Well done Sarah. Beautifully written. A bit of an emotional roller coaster. Brilliant.
Having lived at Akrotiri as a teenager for 3 years and now having lived in Cyprus for the last 10 years I have thoroughly loved these books. Makes me realise how fortunate I am to live here. Well done Sarah. Beautifully written. A bit of an emotional roller coaster. Brilliant.
September 1, 2025
Fabulous Books
Loved this book and the 2 previous ones in the trilogy. Being an air force wife for 22 years and knowing RAF Akrotiri well it brought back so many very happy memories. Loved the story telling and how I was swept up into the story, unable to put it down. Brilliant !
Loved this book and the 2 previous ones in the trilogy. Being an air force wife for 22 years and knowing RAF Akrotiri well it brought back so many very happy memories. Loved the story telling and how I was swept up into the story, unable to put it down. Brilliant !
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews