Siena

by Phil Rowlands

Welsh artist Sara Jenkins’ husband and young son are killed during the shooting of a wealthy Italian in London.A year after the unsolved murders she meets a Canadian academic who helps her find a way out of her darkness.Sara travels alone to Siena to search for a killer and find closure.Her pain and grief drive her to the edge of madness as her life spins out of control.

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 10, 2021

About the author

Phil is an author, screenwriter and producer.

His work has encompassed civil engineering, catering, acting, Moomins adapting, TV and film scripting, rap writing and animation. Originally from Pembrokeshire, he now lives near Cardiff. His first novel Siena was published in 2017.

A revised edition of Siena and his second novel Single Cell have just been published by Diamond Crime, an imprint of new Indie publisher Diamond Books and the third, Timeslip, will follow in Summer 2021.


www.diamondbooks.co.uk

www.philrowlandswriter.com

Reviews

[Dee Groocock · Rating 5 out of 5]

My goodness, what a story this is!

From the opening page to the end, I was taken on an emotional rollercoaster. The grief written about in the pages of this book actually had me in tears! This is a beautifully written book with grief, murder and revenge at the heart of it.

Wonderful and descriptive writing about Siena, where part of the book takes place. I felt as though i was there, enjoying the history, the food and the Palio.

I highly recommend this book and hope to read more by this author.

[Sarah Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siena’s opening scene, a little boy waiting to photograph a train with one eye on the possibility of Paddington Bear being a real bear, shocks with his and his father’s violent death. From then on, in flashback and in current time, the story sweeps between a lonely Welsh hillside to the teeming streets of Siena. Sara, vividly portrayed bereaved wife and mother, wants answers, but she is a pawn, but a pawn for whom and for what? Can she trust the new man who erupts into her life? A book for readers who don’t mind sleepless nights; it's a "must-read-to-the-end"!

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable from start to finish. No spoilers, but an horrific opener which has repercussions until the very end. Psychologically gripping which is rare in most 'fiction' I've read, and this book doesn't feel like 'fiction' at all. Am with Sara Llewellyn all the way - and what a journey! What a climax! This deserves to be a best-seller. Bravo, Phil Rowlands!

[Ruth Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stylish and emotionally literate thriller from Phil Rowlands. I think unremitting grief is a terribly difficult thing to write about and the earlier chapters in particular put me through the emotional mincer but then came a real blindsiding plot twist that had me gasping. The author is very interested in investigating how characters' personal histories affect their responses to one another. The grief-stricken central character, Sara, is horribly manipulated in the story (I found myself muttering 'bastard!' regularly under my breath) and if there's a sequel planned, I'd like to see her begin to fight her own battles with the outside world, with her eyes wide open.

[John Nicholl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully well-written, emotive and thoroughly entertaining book which I'm happy to recommend.