"This atmospheric mystery unpacks class privilege, power and entitlement in subtly gripping style."
The past, present and class divides collide in Andrew Crofts’ absorbing On the Backs of Others. Simmering with decades-old dark secrets that come to light when the owner of a manor house dies, the story shimmers with suspense as it builds to a stirring and cleverly-paced climax.
The setting is a pretty small village, in which tongues are set wagging when wealthy French septuagenarian Daisy arrives, right after the death of the manor’s master. As villagers gather in the local pub to gossip about recent goings-on, we also meet Mrs Woodcock and Benson, who’ve lived in service at “the big house” all their lives. Into this, local-born Molly, the landlady’s daughter, returns to her home village to transform the manor into a wedding venue fit for an influencer acquaintance.
And so, a media circus comes to town when whirlwind Zahara descends to plan her wedding to a prominent female footballer. During the extravagant transformation, a number of dreadful truths are unearthed in the form of old bones, old newspaper cuttings and old French connections.
Well-paced and laced with charm and touches of comedy, On the Backs of Others rises to a shocking denouement that melts to a moving final scene.
| Primary Genre | Crime and Mystery |
| Other Genres: |
Two mysterious strangers arrive in the village, just as news emerges from the forbidden Manor House that the reclusive master is dead.
As ruthless developers threaten to destroy generations of tradition, a lavish social media wedding promises salvation through renovation and renewal. But dark truths are lurking beneath the village’s cosy façade. Long-buried secrets rise to the surface, exposing a multigenerational web of cruelty and complicity, and the villagers must decide whether they will continue to cling to the lies and illusions of the past or expose painful memories to the light.
A sharp, atmospheric exploration of privilege, power and the tragic price of progress.
On the Backs of Others features in the following genres: Crime and Mystery, Thriller and Suspense
On the Backs of Others is available in Paperback
On the Backs of Others was written by Andrew Crofts and published by Whitefox Publishing Ltd
