The eleventh instalment from the village of Turnham Malpas sees the residents facing life without their rector …Rebecca’s novels contain more drama than the average soap – for gossip, scandal and secrets there’s nothing better than curling up with a Rebecca Shaw.

Comparison: Elvi Rhodes, Miss Read, Maureen Lee.

Similar this month: Mary Jane Staples.

Synopsis

When the rector, Peter, takes his family to Africa for a year so that he can work in a Mission, the villagers are bereft. They don't immediately take to the locum, Anna, who has rather modern ideas - but she does fill the church with parishioners determined to keep an eye on her. Then she brings a down-and-out petty thief into their midst causing conflict within the community.

Peter keeps in touch regularly by email, and the Women's Institute comes up with the idea of raising funds for his Mission. There's an upmarket pyjama party, midnight skinny dipping and an afternoon's horse racing, with more money than they dreamed of riding on a horse called Major Malpas. Then a message arrives from Peter with the most devastating news - and the villagers are more determined than ever to raise a substantial sum for Peter's Mission.

Reviews

About the Author

Rebecca Shaw is a former school teacher and the bestselling author of many novels. She lives with her husband in a beautiful Dorset village where she finds plenty of inspiration for her stories about rural life. She has four children and eight grandchildren. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation