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#HistFicThursdays - Lady of the Quay by Amanda Roberts - Book Snippet

   This week for #HistFicThursdays, I'm delighted to once again be teaming up with  The Coffee Pot Book Club  for author  Amanda Roberts ' blog tour! Today, I'm sharing an excerpt from her fabulous new release,  Lady of the Quay ! First of all, let's meet the book... Knowing she is innocent is easy … proving it is hard 1560, Berwick-upon-Tweed, northern England Following the unexpected death of her father, a series of startling discoveries about the business she inherits forces Isabella Gillhespy to re-evaluate everything she understands about her past and expects from her future. Facing financial ruin, let down by people on whom she thought she could rely, and suspected of crimes that threaten her freedom, Isabella struggles to prove her innocence. But the stakes are even higher than she realises. In a town where tension between England and her Scottish neighbours is never far from the surface, it isn’t long before developments attract the interest of...

"Black Water" by Barbara Henderson

"Black Water" by Barbara Henderson



One of the first things that struck me about the book was how great the cover is. I love the picture, and I love the font. What makes this book even better is the awesome illustrations that appear at the chapter headings. The book is wonderfully formatted and a pleasure to have.



I started this book at tea time on the 5th November, thinking I should really give some time to a book I'd committed to reviewing. I finished the book at half 9 on the exact same day. Within minutes of starting, I realised I couldn't put the book down, but I didn't want to finish at the same time.



What I really liked about this book was that it included real people, which was described at the end. One of these real people was none other than celebrated poet Robert Burns, who was written exactly as I imagined him. I knew he was an Excise Man but I didn't make the connection that he'd be a great character in the book, even when I saw the chapter title "The Poet".

This book would make a very good class read. After Christmas, my topic with my P4s is "on the water", and I'm thrilled that this book has come out in time to be the perfect class novel. Closer to the topic, I will make some classroom resources that could be used in conjunction with this book. Teachers need all the help they can get!!

I was thrilled to be part of the book tour for this book, and I wish it every success through the coming months. Barbara Henderson will be appearing at the John o' Groats Book Festival in April if anyone would like to come and meet the author.

You can buy the book at any book shop worth it's salt, and here on Amazon.

Blurb

Down by the coast, black water swirls and hides its secrets...

Dumfries, 1792. Henry may only be thirteen, but he has already begun his training in the Excise, combatting smuggling like his father does. But when a large smuggling schooner is stranded nearby, the stakes are high—even with reinforcements, and the newly recruited officer, a poet called Robert Burns.

Musket fire, obstructive locals, quicksand and cannonballs—it is a mission of survival. As it turns out: Henry has a crucial part to play...



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