Book of the Month - July 2012

My book of the month for July is Christina Courtenay's wonderful new time slip novel, The Silent Touch of Shadows. Christina has already made a name for herself as a great writer of historical fiction, winning major awards for her novels The Scarlet Kimono (set in 17th century Japan) and Highland Storms (set in 18th century Scotland). Christina is meticulous in her research methods, and the result of this in-depth research is that she really takes her readers there.

In The Silent Touch of Shadows, single mother and geneaologist (genealogy is one of Christina's own passions) Melissa goes to visit an ancient manor house and later finds she's dreaming very disturbing and worrying dreams.  What if she's going mad? She can't really be back in the 15th century, can she? Who is this woman Sibell, who seems to have taken over Melissa's mind? Why does Melissa wake from a strange dream with a terrible pain in her back and thinking there must be a farmyard outside her window?

I don't really believe in ghosts, but this novel made me think again about the ways in which we connect with our past lives, and about how what has happened in our collective past might affect our future. Melissa's Steve walked out on Melissa and their child, so will what happens to Melissa in the course of this story give her a second chance of love?

What if, as your husband-to-be panicked at the altar, another man had stepped forward to offer you his gauntlet-clad hand?

If you're a fan of historical and time slip fiction you will love this story, which I think is Christina's best yet.

Click on the image to the right of this post to take you to the UK's Amazon site, where you can find more details of Christina's novel, which is available as a print paperback and an ebook download.