A novel which majors on landscape written by Linda Cracknell who was inspired by walking in Caithness.
When Maggie Thame, a childless forty-something from Oxford, relocates to a remote village at Scotland’s most northern edge, it’s clear she’s running away. But to the villagers the question remains, from what? Pursuing her career as a freelance cartographer, she lives in self-imposed isolation, seeking refuge in the harsh beauty of her surroundings. This is disturbed when she falls into an uneasy friendship with Trothan Gilbertson, a strange, other-worldly local nine-year old. Like Maggie, it’s unclear where Trothan really comes from, and what secrets might be lurking in his past. The lives of both become intertwined, with violent consequences that will change the destinies of woman and boy forever, forcing Maggie to confront the tragic events that first drew her to this isolated place. In this, her debut novel, award-winning writer Linda Cracknell explores themes of motherhood,guilt, myth and the elemental forces of nature in a lyrical, taut and haunting account of damaged lives seeking redemption.
‘mysterious, deeply touching and makes enchantment feel very close to daily life‘ – Sara Maitland
‘…seductively pulls the reader into the deeper more dangerous currents of the human heart.Emotions ebb and flow along with the tide, in language clear and crisp as sea air.‘ – Cynthia Rogerson
‘Linda Cracknell’s Caithness rises up off the page and takes form around us… Reading this book is like being there.‘ – Kirsty Gunn
‘…a haunting tale that, like the landscape in which it’s set, is perched on the cusp of the supernatural without ever quite toppling in.’ – The Herald
£2.99 as an e-book. Linda Cracknell was a guest at a Walking Writers Salon in May 2023 – log in to watch a video recording from here.
