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A Clean Break
A short prequel to A Clean Sweep, this is the story of a disintegrating marriage and a couple teetering on the precipice. Will an affair shatter Emily and Jim's relationship, or will other forces bring about the end?
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About the author
Audrey Davis
11 books108 followersAudrey Davis survived secondary school on the West coast of Scotland. Rubbish at science but not too bad at English, she originally wanted to be an actress but was persuaded that journalism was a safer option. Probably wise. She studied at Napier College in Edinburgh, the only place in Scotland at that time to offer a journalism course.
Her first foray into the hard-nosed newspaper world was as a junior reporter in Dumfriesshire. Duties included interviewing farmers about the prize-winning heifers to reporting on family tragedies. She persuaded her editor to let her launch an entertainment column which meant meeting the odd celebrity – or just the downright odd. From there, she moved to the loftier rank of senior reporter back in her home patch. Slightly more money, fewer farm animals but a higher crime rate. As Taggart would say: 'There's been a murrrrder!'
After a stint in London on a video magazine – yes, she is that old – Audrey moved to Singapore with her fiancé. She tried valiantly to embrace the stinking heat, humidity and lack of jobs, although she did work briefly on a magazine which was banned by the government for 'artistic' use of naked men's bottoms.
Next on her adventures was a land Down Under where her main focus was raising Cost Centre One (aka firstborn) and coming to terms with the imminent arrival of Number Two. Still, she loved the Aussie way of life – BBQs, beaches and bring your own booze to restaurants – so it came as a blow when OH announced a move back to the UK. Not a job between use, the climate a possible deal breaker and an Exorcist-style vomiting infant on the flight home didn't bode well …
Always a survivor, Audrey sought out similar-minded friends (i.e. slightly bonkers), got the children into a good school and thought about taking up writing again. Sadly, thinking about it was as far as she got, unless you count shopping lists. Then, hubby drops another bombshell. Switzerland. As in – it's packing time again. Off to the land of cheese, chocolate, scarily efficient trains and a couple of teeny, tiny issues. Like driving on the 'wrong' side of the road and speaking a foreign language (French). The former was conquered fairly quickly (we'll skip over the wall demolition in week two), the latter remains an ongoing battle of the hopeful against the hopeless. At least she provides amusement for the local workforce.
It wasn't until 2016 that Audrey rediscovered her writing mojo with an on line Writing Fiction course. From there, her first novel – A Clean Sweep – was born, although it took a bit longer than nine months from conception. A short, darker prequel – A Clean Break – followed, and in November 2017 she published the first in a novella trilogy, The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part One. Parts Two and Three followed, and were combined into a standalone novel in November 2018. Her third romantic comedy A Wish For Jinnie will be published in June 2020.
Her first foray into the hard-nosed newspaper world was as a junior reporter in Dumfriesshire. Duties included interviewing farmers about the prize-winning heifers to reporting on family tragedies. She persuaded her editor to let her launch an entertainment column which meant meeting the odd celebrity – or just the downright odd. From there, she moved to the loftier rank of senior reporter back in her home patch. Slightly more money, fewer farm animals but a higher crime rate. As Taggart would say: 'There's been a murrrrder!'
After a stint in London on a video magazine – yes, she is that old – Audrey moved to Singapore with her fiancé. She tried valiantly to embrace the stinking heat, humidity and lack of jobs, although she did work briefly on a magazine which was banned by the government for 'artistic' use of naked men's bottoms.
Next on her adventures was a land Down Under where her main focus was raising Cost Centre One (aka firstborn) and coming to terms with the imminent arrival of Number Two. Still, she loved the Aussie way of life – BBQs, beaches and bring your own booze to restaurants – so it came as a blow when OH announced a move back to the UK. Not a job between use, the climate a possible deal breaker and an Exorcist-style vomiting infant on the flight home didn't bode well …
Always a survivor, Audrey sought out similar-minded friends (i.e. slightly bonkers), got the children into a good school and thought about taking up writing again. Sadly, thinking about it was as far as she got, unless you count shopping lists. Then, hubby drops another bombshell. Switzerland. As in – it's packing time again. Off to the land of cheese, chocolate, scarily efficient trains and a couple of teeny, tiny issues. Like driving on the 'wrong' side of the road and speaking a foreign language (French). The former was conquered fairly quickly (we'll skip over the wall demolition in week two), the latter remains an ongoing battle of the hopeful against the hopeless. At least she provides amusement for the local workforce.
It wasn't until 2016 that Audrey rediscovered her writing mojo with an on line Writing Fiction course. From there, her first novel – A Clean Sweep – was born, although it took a bit longer than nine months from conception. A short, darker prequel – A Clean Break – followed, and in November 2017 she published the first in a novella trilogy, The Haunting of Hattie Hastings Part One. Parts Two and Three followed, and were combined into a standalone novel in November 2018. Her third romantic comedy A Wish For Jinnie will be published in June 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 14, 2020
"Well-written prequel"+
This does everything you require in a short story prequel. We meet the main characters, the settings are defined, and the ashes of the couple's marriage are raked over. Well-written, with a vein of humour subtly blended with the sheer terror that breaking away might bring. Easy to read and convincing enough to make you want to read the novel itself.
This does everything you require in a short story prequel. We meet the main characters, the settings are defined, and the ashes of the couple's marriage are raked over. Well-written, with a vein of humour subtly blended with the sheer terror that breaking away might bring. Easy to read and convincing enough to make you want to read the novel itself.
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July 23, 2023Ugh,don't care about the characters and after reading sample of clean sweep,prequel doesn't feel much of a lead in,nor am I inspired to continue.🤷
August 25, 2017
Jim and Emily are unhappily married. They’re keeping up appearances (sort of), but it’s only a matter of time, or so it seems, before the inevitable happens.
We see this disintegrating marriage from both sides as the perspective switches from one to the other. Although Emily is clearly the wronged party, we may feel the slightest twinge of pity for Jim, caught in the throes of what turns out to be a rather risky mid-life crisis. Or we may not.
I found it easy to read this in one sitting, not only because it is fairly short but also thanks to the page-turning quality of the writing. The humour is sharp, often sardonic and refreshingly original. It provides light relief from the tension as well as heightening the poignancy as we find ourselves drawn into the troubled but highly entertaining lives of this mismatched couple.
I haven’t yet read A Clean Sweep, but it’s top of my must-read list after finishing this standalone prequel. I can’t wait to find out what happens next!
We see this disintegrating marriage from both sides as the perspective switches from one to the other. Although Emily is clearly the wronged party, we may feel the slightest twinge of pity for Jim, caught in the throes of what turns out to be a rather risky mid-life crisis. Or we may not.
I found it easy to read this in one sitting, not only because it is fairly short but also thanks to the page-turning quality of the writing. The humour is sharp, often sardonic and refreshingly original. It provides light relief from the tension as well as heightening the poignancy as we find ourselves drawn into the troubled but highly entertaining lives of this mismatched couple.
I haven’t yet read A Clean Sweep, but it’s top of my must-read list after finishing this standalone prequel. I can’t wait to find out what happens next!
February 22, 2018
It's Over
The story was slow for me. I felt like a voyeur watching two unhappy people make a decision about what to do about their marriage. Jim did the unthinkable in a marriage he initially wanted to keep together. Emily didn't want to stay married but she didn't want a divorce but she wanted out. What did she finally decide to do????
The story was slow for me. I felt like a voyeur watching two unhappy people make a decision about what to do about their marriage. Jim did the unthinkable in a marriage he initially wanted to keep together. Emily didn't want to stay married but she didn't want a divorce but she wanted out. What did she finally decide to do????
April 27, 2023
An entertaining short story as a prequel. I enjoyed it, and will now have to read the next one to see what happens. This prequel worked!
July 21, 2017
One could hardly call this book a romance, yet it is, in its way, a love story. The big difference is that it lacks the happy ending that's come to be associated with all manner of relationship stories.
Given the circumstances of this particular story, I felt, without giving any spoilers, that the ending as written is far more right, and more satisfying to the reader, than the traditional cliched schmaltz would have been. The characters are realistic, the situation is realistic, and so the story plays out in a realistic way. I must admit to a slight disappointment that the vile husband did not meet a worse end, yet the way it is written is undeniably right. A good job all around and I look forward to seeing the story of Emily continued in the next book.
Given the circumstances of this particular story, I felt, without giving any spoilers, that the ending as written is far more right, and more satisfying to the reader, than the traditional cliched schmaltz would have been. The characters are realistic, the situation is realistic, and so the story plays out in a realistic way. I must admit to a slight disappointment that the vile husband did not meet a worse end, yet the way it is written is undeniably right. A good job all around and I look forward to seeing the story of Emily continued in the next book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews