Only two books really stood out for me during my September reading:
Stef Penney - The Long Water
This is a crime novel with a distinctly different flavour. In the height of summer in the north of Norway, the senior students in the local high school are reaching the end of their school days, with their customary reckless dares, and wild parties. Sixteen-year-old Elin is neurodivergent, coming to terms with how she relates to growing up, while her close friend Benny enters into his first proper gay relationship. Elin's grandmother Svea does her best to support her, while she reflects on her own difficult relationship with her daughter, and thinks about her own past. When one of the senior students, Daniel, goes missing, the whole town is affected. Everyone in Svea, Elin and Benny's circle has a connection to the missing teenager. Then the police search uncovers a body in one of the disused copper mines above the town - but it's not a recent death, and there begins a search to discover his identity. Old stories begin to surface, and painful memories are brought to light in the process. Fascinating characters, a different culture explored, as the author teases out each new nugget of information. Excellent storytelling, as we are transported to an unfamiliar area where we recognise dilemmas brought about by society and personal traumas from the past, until answers are finally given.
Lizzie Lane - A New Doctor at Orchard Cottage Hospital
This prelude novel in a saga series is set in 1930. Frances Brakespeare has recently lost her adoptive mother, Izzy, and unmarried former suffragette. Izzy encouraged Frances' career as a doctor in a London hospital, followig her time as a VAD nurse in World War I. When Frances loses her job after standing up to the mysoginistic actions of a male doctor, she applies to be the resident doctor at Orchard Cottage Hospital in Somerset. Soon she finds herself faced with new battles, trying to prove that she's a competent doctor. The two nurses, Lucy and her sister Nancy (who is married to a quarryman), are delighted to have her support, although the Sister, Edith Harrison, is surprisingly frosty. But Frances also has the support of local benefactress of the hospital, Lady Araminta, and a surprising friendship develops with local vicar, Gregory Sampson. There are opponents at every turn, not least the bullying quarry manager, Mr. Grainger. When she discovers that her new home has a disturbing mysterious connection to her fiance, Ralph, who perished in the war, she 's determined to discover the truth about this, while striving to convince the community that she deserves to be in her chosen profession. Well-written, plenty of twists and turns, with a compelling sense of place and time.
