The Cheesemaker’s House arrived in our postbox with a lovely personal note from the author, Jane Cable. Touched by the effort and about to go on a five-and-a-half hour train journey I decided to take it with me. I read the book in under four hours. In part because the chapters leave no wastage or flowery writing; they are short and snappy. The book is easy to read, but it is also gripping, you desperately want to know what is going to happen and the characters draw you in.
For something with a paranormal bent it is also strangely believable if you let your imagination go. The character of Alice is a great one. She is a survivor and has been through a lot. Her husband left her for his secretary who he had impregnated, but she remains a good, giving person. Owen is more complicated. Mostly likeable but also infuriating. The actions of the countryside are perfectly encapsulated; how everyone knows everyone elses business, the random noises, the community spirit.
The Cheesemaker’s House is Jane’s first published novel and I wonder how many more she has written as she is a skilled writer with a strong voice. The author really has a talent for writing, this book won the suspense & crime category of the Alan Titchmarsh Show People’s Novelist competition in 2011, and I had seen it on a few ‘must read’ lists before I received it. I really enjoyed this book and I hope for more novels from this talented writer.
