My Review of A Cornish Affair by Jo Lambert
A Cornish Affair
In the close-knit community of Carrenporth in Cornwall everyone knows everyone else’s business. Luke Carrack is only too aware of this. He’s been away for two years but nothing has changed – from the town gossips who can’t see past the scandal of his childhood, to the cold way he is treated by some of his so-called family.
The only person who seems to understand is local hotelier’s daughter Cat Trevelyan, although even Luke’s new friendship with her could set tongues wagging.
But Carrenporth is about to experience far bigger scandals than the return of Luke Carrack – and the secrets unearthed in the process will shake the sleepy seaside town to its core …
The only person who seems to understand is local hotelier’s daughter Cat Trevelyan, although even Luke’s new friendship with her could set tongues wagging.
But Carrenporth is about to experience far bigger scandals than the return of Luke Carrack – and the secrets unearthed in the process will shake the sleepy seaside town to its core …
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My Review:
I'm thrilled to be the first stop on this tour, thank you Rachel Gilbert for asking me to take part.
I thoroughly enjoyed A Cornish Affair and loved the unexpected genre segues. It's a refreshing read and very well written as Jo Lambert settles the reader into a classic 'will they - won't they' romance and then throws a murder accusation into the mix with some family drama thrown in for good measure. The characters were well crafted and fully rounded, I didn't always like Cat Trevelyan, the main protagonist, but I always understood her behaviour as it was so plausible. Cat's family have run the Tarwin Hotel on the headland over Carrenporth, Cornwall for generations, and it would have been so easy to portray her as spoilt and as such less easy to empathise with. Lambert avoids this by instilling her with a strong work ethic and a commendable concern for others around her. Cat's romantic interest is the newly returned Luke Carrack who exemplifies that it's not your family name and social standing that defines who you are as a human being, it's your core moral compass which money can't buy.
A subplot of the narrative focuses on Cat's Aunt Em, a lonely, proud and easily influenced old lady who falls in with the wrong crowd. She initially seems a minor character but in fact brings a lot of depth, humour and heart to A Cornish Affair. You'll laugh out loud when she's discovered outside the supermarket but Lambert crafts this scene so deftly that you will also cringe a little for her too.
A real strength of A Cornish Affair is the great cast of ensemble characters, all of whom enhance the narrative and highlight different facets of Cat's character and help drive the narrative forward. And of course the fictionalised Carrenporth (Perranporth?) on the Cornwall coast provides a beautiful backdrop to the drama.
A great summer read ...
Thank you so much for a truly fabulous review x
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