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The Searight Saga #3
The Red Oak
The past is always with us; it’s just that sometimes we don’t see it.
Summer 2004. Tom Searight can’t relate to his 14-year-old daughter, Charlotte, or his cantankerous old father, Robert. But his life really disintegrates when he discovers his wife of 15 years, Julie, is having an affair with Charlotte’s favourite teacher.
A chance letter from France takes Tom on a journey to learn about the life of his great uncle, Guy Searight, a veteran of the First World War. But as Tom learns more about his family’s tragic past and his own father’s turbulent childhood, his future becomes increasingly uncertain.
Can Tom learn from the lessons of the past to save his marriage and his family?
“The handling of the situation, from seven different viewpoints, is extraordinary! Absolutely brilliant! I wonder at Colley’s talent with words!”
“The links to family, the events and their consequences on individuals, the resultant effects on their behavior, and the impact on four generations was masterfully done.”
“The characterizations are wonderful.”
“This is a great book. It is strong, sensitive, well-written, and I love it! It spoke to me on many levels.”
“Rupert Colley is such a clever writer who grabs the reader’s attention in the first couple of pages.”
“Have just read ‘The Red Oak’, and hardly took a breath. I thoroughly enjoyed every page. You can tell a good author by the way the opening of the book grips you, wants to make you read on, and this story really does all that. Colley made the family so real, it was almost as if we were there with them. A wonderful book.”
Historical fiction with heart and drama.
Summer 2004. Tom Searight can’t relate to his 14-year-old daughter, Charlotte, or his cantankerous old father, Robert. But his life really disintegrates when he discovers his wife of 15 years, Julie, is having an affair with Charlotte’s favourite teacher.
A chance letter from France takes Tom on a journey to learn about the life of his great uncle, Guy Searight, a veteran of the First World War. But as Tom learns more about his family’s tragic past and his own father’s turbulent childhood, his future becomes increasingly uncertain.
Can Tom learn from the lessons of the past to save his marriage and his family?
“The handling of the situation, from seven different viewpoints, is extraordinary! Absolutely brilliant! I wonder at Colley’s talent with words!”
“The links to family, the events and their consequences on individuals, the resultant effects on their behavior, and the impact on four generations was masterfully done.”
“The characterizations are wonderful.”
“This is a great book. It is strong, sensitive, well-written, and I love it! It spoke to me on many levels.”
“Rupert Colley is such a clever writer who grabs the reader’s attention in the first couple of pages.”
“Have just read ‘The Red Oak’, and hardly took a breath. I thoroughly enjoyed every page. You can tell a good author by the way the opening of the book grips you, wants to make you read on, and this story really does all that. Colley made the family so real, it was almost as if we were there with them. A wonderful book.”
Historical fiction with heart and drama.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
259 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 12, 2017
28 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Rupert Colley
33 books131 followersFounder, writer and Series Editor of History In An Hour (http://historyinanhour.com), owned by HarperCollins UK, and now author of two novels.
The first, "My Brother the Enemy", a novella, is set during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
The second, "This Time Tomorrow", set during and following World War One, is a compelling story of war, brotherly love, passion and betrayal.
My third novel, "The Black Maria", is set in Moscow in 1935, the height of Stalin's reign, about love crushed by the machine.
The first, "My Brother the Enemy", a novella, is set during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
The second, "This Time Tomorrow", set during and following World War One, is a compelling story of war, brotherly love, passion and betrayal.
My third novel, "The Black Maria", is set in Moscow in 1935, the height of Stalin's reign, about love crushed by the machine.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 11, 2017
The Red Oak by Rupert Colley is the third book in his Searight Saga. Not having read the first two in the series, I was able to dive right into the story and not feel like I missed the background stories from the other books. The continuation of the Searight family brings this book to a contemporary setting. Readers find Tom Searight, the son of Robert, the sole survivor of a torpedoed WWII ship and the main character of the second book in the series, struggling to keep his life together. His whole life seems to be coming apart, not just his marriage but other family relationships, old girlfriends popping up, and a stressful turn of events at his job. Will he be able to figure it all out and just what is this letter from France? Will it answer some of the things from the past and bring healing to his family? The author tells a grippingly honest tale that looks at some gritty and very real issues of life. The characters are strong and evocative, and the reader is drawn into the poignant and sometimes heartbreaking drama of their all too human struggles. I am looking forward to going back and reading the first two books in this series, as well as other books by this author. I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author. I was not required to write a review and the opinions are my own.
July 12, 2017
I received The Red Oak,originally, as a free book, from Rupert Colley, for an honest review, and I can honestly say this is one of my favorite books. The characters are fabulous, and the Red Oak itself, must've seen and heard some of the best things from its beginnings to current times. I've always been interested in history, wartime as well as family, and love the way they're both incorporated in the story. Thank you,Rupert, for sharing your talent with us.
I received The Red Oak, originally,from Rupert Colley,free, for an honest review, and I can honestly say this is one of my favorite books. I love the fabulous characters and the way he incorporated wartime and family history together. The Red oak tree must have seen and heard such great things from its beginnings to current times too.
I received The Red Oak, originally,from Rupert Colley,free, for an honest review, and I can honestly say this is one of my favorite books. I love the fabulous characters and the way he incorporated wartime and family history together. The Red oak tree must have seen and heard such great things from its beginnings to current times too.
July 15, 2017
Need To Read Last in Series - Great Juxtaposition of War of Countries and War of Marriage
I really enjoyed this book. It was painful as I have experienced some of this. But through knowledge comes forgiveness and through pain comes growth. The author portrays the conflicting emotions accurately. The different characters are realistic and deep. I ended up feeling for all of them! I want to read more of this author’s work. Unfortunately, I can’t. This is a stand-alone last novel in the series. It is so filled with spoilers from the prior two novels that I feel I’ve been cheated out of reading them. I hate re-reading novels and that’s why I can’t read the first two of the series now that I know how it all end
I really enjoyed this book. It was painful as I have experienced some of this. But through knowledge comes forgiveness and through pain comes growth. The author portrays the conflicting emotions accurately. The different characters are realistic and deep. I ended up feeling for all of them! I want to read more of this author’s work. Unfortunately, I can’t. This is a stand-alone last novel in the series. It is so filled with spoilers from the prior two novels that I feel I’ve been cheated out of reading them. I hate re-reading novels and that’s why I can’t read the first two of the series now that I know how it all end
July 10, 2017
This was a very interesting story. I haven't read the other books in this series but intend to. This volume was set in modern day chronicling a family in distress and their link to WWI. Great juxtaposition of different times and different generations. Really enjoyed the history aspect.
I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
July 17, 2017
I just finished Rupert Colley's new book 'The Red Oak'. I hate to say it but I'm not a fan of Romance type stories. I'm more of a blood and guts type person. I did really enjoy the jaunt done memory lane of his WW1 part of the story. I will recommend this to my Romantic reader friends.
Do keep up the good work.
Cheers
Lynn
Do keep up the good work.
Cheers
Lynn
November 6, 2017
Love reading this book about history, romance, family, And how Tom takes care of both of his family and personal problems. I am looking forward to reading more books by rupert Colley.
July 15, 2017
4 1/2 stars, but I rounded up :)
I really liked The Red Oak & I'm glad that I read it. I've also read 2 other books by Mr Colley: This Time Tomorrow (the first in the Searight Saga) & The Sixth Man (a standalone novel). l enjoyed them quite a lot, though I am very sensitive and struggled with the graphic descriptions. In both cases, I totally understood how those segments contributed to the storylines and I thought they were really well-written. I haven't read The Unforgiving Sea (book 2 in the Searight Saga) because, knowing it's the story of Robert becoming the sole survivor of 10 men who get stranded on a lifeboat after the sinking of their ship, I am afraid it will be too graphic for me, but I wish I was able to because I'm sure it would've given me insight and perspective regarding Robert and his relationship with Tom. As it is, without having read Robert's story, I think Mr Colley did a wonderful job writing The Red Oak in a way that I was able to get a sense for Robert & Tom's relationship, and consequently a better understanding of Tom's personality, attitudes, views and emotions.
I've read the term "growler" in reviews of other books & interpreted that to mean that the reader was at first somewhat detached, then partway through the story, they got attached and became engrossed in it. I think that would be a good way to describe my experience with this book: at first, I felt like I was just being told a story; then when I was about 30% of the way into it, it fully grabbed me and I felt like I knew the characters & was hearing about their lives and their feelings and their realities. In general, I felt like I got to know the family and came to care about the outcomes in their relationships. All-in-all, I believe this novel (and the trilogy on a whole) has a lot of merit; it made me think & feel. And I especially love how this story that began with Guy Searight in the first World War continues through the generations into contemporary times.
I'm looking forward, now, to reading a couple more books by Mr Colley and I'm sure they will not disappoint!
I really liked The Red Oak & I'm glad that I read it. I've also read 2 other books by Mr Colley: This Time Tomorrow (the first in the Searight Saga) & The Sixth Man (a standalone novel). l enjoyed them quite a lot, though I am very sensitive and struggled with the graphic descriptions. In both cases, I totally understood how those segments contributed to the storylines and I thought they were really well-written. I haven't read The Unforgiving Sea (book 2 in the Searight Saga) because, knowing it's the story of Robert becoming the sole survivor of 10 men who get stranded on a lifeboat after the sinking of their ship, I am afraid it will be too graphic for me, but I wish I was able to because I'm sure it would've given me insight and perspective regarding Robert and his relationship with Tom. As it is, without having read Robert's story, I think Mr Colley did a wonderful job writing The Red Oak in a way that I was able to get a sense for Robert & Tom's relationship, and consequently a better understanding of Tom's personality, attitudes, views and emotions.
I've read the term "growler" in reviews of other books & interpreted that to mean that the reader was at first somewhat detached, then partway through the story, they got attached and became engrossed in it. I think that would be a good way to describe my experience with this book: at first, I felt like I was just being told a story; then when I was about 30% of the way into it, it fully grabbed me and I felt like I knew the characters & was hearing about their lives and their feelings and their realities. In general, I felt like I got to know the family and came to care about the outcomes in their relationships. All-in-all, I believe this novel (and the trilogy on a whole) has a lot of merit; it made me think & feel. And I especially love how this story that began with Guy Searight in the first World War continues through the generations into contemporary times.
I'm looking forward, now, to reading a couple more books by Mr Colley and I'm sure they will not disappoint!
August 18, 2017
this was actually a great read for me. as a zombie/apocalypse girl, I was sceptical of reading outside of my usual genre.
But it was a gripping story, a man's life defined by his actions, and those of his wife and what the consequences of them are.
revisiting a part of family history to know who he was, and why his father was adamant to not talk about it.
A great "life drama".
highly recommend it.
But it was a gripping story, a man's life defined by his actions, and those of his wife and what the consequences of them are.
revisiting a part of family history to know who he was, and why his father was adamant to not talk about it.
A great "life drama".
highly recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews