This is a debut novel for this Author and, in my opinion, signifies the beginning of a long and illustrious career as a writer with this gentle and mysterious ghost story.

The main protagonist in this book is a recently divorced woman, and the Author does a great job of instilling a feeling of loss and sadness into this character whilst at the same time injecting her with a sense of moving on. Rather than bring in this character’s back story all at once, in an effort to get it over and done with, the Author gradually introduces all her flaws and insecurities over a period of time; this serves to draw the reader in and, even though they may not be in the same position as the character they can easily connect with her and put themselves in her place. This serves to make her have a real aura around her, as if she is someone we know personally. The other characters in this novel are also well written, and once again, there is no cluttering up of the storyline with information that has no relation to the plot. Being from Yorkshire myself, a could identify with a lot of the traits the Author places on her characters, and also could actually put some faces of people I know to them, this ability created by the Author just made this book even more enjoyable for me. All the characters in this book are shrouded with mysteries of one kind or another and the Author feeds titbits to the reader throughout its pages, to aid them in uncovering them.

The Author writes with a style that hooks the reader from the first page, making them want to keep reading until the end, and the initial mystery laid out before the reader is one that is not easily solved; another great way to keep you hooked until the end. Despite the mild aspects of romance in the book, I actually enjoyed it. I didn’t find the Author wrote too much of this side of the main protagonists new life, sticking mainly to the ghost story aspect of the plot. Where I did feel, however, that the book tended to get bogged down was with the minutiae of village life; there are only so many times you can read about onions as big as your head, and the cut-throat world of the village fete before you never want to tend attend one again. Other than that though, the Authors description of village life in Yorkshire was spot on, and I thoroughly enjoyed her giving some of the characters in the book the local dialect, which came easily to my mind as I read causing no difficulties. Other readers not familiar with the dialect may find it hard to decipher, as I do when reading novels containing the southern US dialect. I particularly enjoyed the historical aspect of this novel, and how pulling on her research into her own home, the Author was able to add realism to her work.

I would highly recommend this novel to lovers of the suspense and crime genres, but if you are totally into romantic fiction you may be disappointed in this read. Thankfully it was not a major part of this book, and as such means I will be looking for more from this Author if she keeps writing in this way.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2013/09/12/review-the-cheesemakers-house-jane-cable/


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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This is a debut novel for this Author and, in my opinion, signifies the beginning of a long and illustrious career as a writer with this gentle and mysterious ghost story.

The main protagonist in this book is a recently divorced woman, and the Author does a great job of instilling a feeling of loss and sadness into this character whilst at the same time injecting her with a sense of moving on. Rather than bring in this character’s back story all at once, in an effort to get it over and done with, the Author gradually introduces all her flaws and insecurities over a period of time; this serves to draw the reader in and, even though they may not be in the same position as the character they can easily connect with her and put themselves in her place. This serves to make her have a real aura around her, as if she is someone we know personally. The other characters in this novel are also well written, and once again, there is no cluttering up of the storyline with information that has no relation to the plot. Being from Yorkshire myself, a could identify with a lot of the traits the Author places on her characters, and also could actually put some faces of people I know to them, this ability created by the Author just made this book even more enjoyable for me. All the characters in this book are shrouded with mysteries of one kind or another and the Author feeds titbits to the reader throughout its pages, to aid them in uncovering them.

The Author writes with a style that hooks the reader from the first page, making them want to keep reading until the end, and the initial mystery laid out before the reader is one that is not easily solved; another great way to keep you hooked until the end. Despite the mild aspects of romance in the book, I actually enjoyed it. I didn’t find the Author wrote too much of this side of the main protagonists new life, sticking mainly to the ghost story aspect of the plot. Where I did feel, however, that the book tended to get bogged down was with the minutiae of village life; there are only so many times you can read about onions as big as your head, and the cut-throat world of the village fete before you never want to tend attend one again. Other than that though, the Authors description of village life in Yorkshire was spot on, and I thoroughly enjoyed her giving some of the characters in the book the local dialect, which came easily to my mind as I read causing no difficulties. Other readers not familiar with the dialect may find it hard to decipher, as I do when reading novels containing the southern US dialect. I particularly enjoyed the historical aspect of this novel, and how pulling on her research into her own home, the Author was able to add realism to her work.

I would highly recommend this novel to lovers of the suspense and crime genres, but if you are totally into romantic fiction you may be disappointed in this read. Thankfully it was not a major part of this book, and as such means I will be looking for more from this Author if she keeps writing in this way.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2013/09/12/review-the-cheesemakers-house-jane-cable/


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
( )

The Cheesemaker's House is a lovely romance story. When I say that, don't think it's all hearts and flowers because it's far from it, but it is a love story with a part-historical element to it.

Alice Hart's husband is a cliché - he's had an affair with his secretary. Alice ends up with their second home, New Cottage in a North Yorkshire village, whilst he keeps the marital home. Needing a fair bit of work doing to it, Alice gets local man Richard, a bit of a charmer, to do some work on the house and on the barn that comes with it. She also meets Owen and she finds herself very taken with him indeed. He's part-owner of the local cafe and she keeps seeing him everywhere. Or does she? And there's the crying she keeps hearing. Is somebody nearby really unhappy or are echoes from the past seeping through into the present?

Jane Cable draws on her own experiences with this novel. Her own cottage, and New Cottage, were the local cheesemaker's house centuries ago. And the cheesemaker was a woman. I found this aspect fascinating. There are strong women at the heart of this story, both in the past and present. This is not a dual timeline or a time slip novel. It's as I said, the past is seeping through due to unresolved issues.

Owen is a lovely man but oh boy, I could have shaken him and slapped him at times. Instead of confiding in Alice as their relationship grew, he pushed her away. I think she was a saint to put up with him at all most of the time, but there was a real connection between them and Alice was determined to find out more about the 'other' Owen that she kept seeing around the village. I liked Alice a lot and really enjoyed her wit, her spirit and her determination. I also liked Richard as, despite his almost lecherous ways, he was a pretty good sparring partner for Alice.

I flew through this book in the space of a day. It's engaging on so many levels. I loved the way the past was intertwined with the present in lots of different ways. There's a slightly spooky element to the story and the historical aspects were so interesting as Alice tried to make sense of events. It's got some lovely relationships at the core of it, both with strong existing friendships and with new ones that are formed.

I've had this book for four years and only wish I had got around to it a bit earlier as I really loved it. It's utterly delightful and a complete page turner. ( )

With so many reviews praising this book, and especially it being a competition winner, I had high expectations of this – and I’m so pleased to say I wasn’t disappointed.

When newly divorced, 35 year old Alice Hart, moves into New Cottage in Northallerton with her spaniel William, to pick up the pieces of her life, she can have no idea of the dramatic events that will follow.

There are some wonderful characters here, all so expertly drawn against a backdrop of the Yorkshire countryside which is beautifully described and I was pulled into the story from the start. The enigmatic Owen Maltby, who along with Adam (the baker) is the co-owner of Café Bianco. Owen, whilst being a kind and caring character, has secrets of his own. The tall, dark and handsome (and doesn’t he know it!) builder, Richard Wainwright who is employed by Alice to renovate her barn has a cheeky manner but we later see a sensitive side too. Her elderly neighbour Margaret, who with her sensible advice becomes a good friend to Alice. Alice, who of course, is central to the story, was somebody that I could identify and engage with – she has doubts and insecurities but is also capable of surprising strength when needed.

When Alice is kept awake at night by the sound of crying together with visions of ghostly images, she decides to delve deeper into the history of New Cottage and its previous inhabitants and with the help of Margaret, unearths some deeply disturbing information. When Richard discovers something even more sinister, events are set in motion that will test Alice and Owen to the limit.

I love books that are mixture of genres and a little bit different and this one certainly doesn’t fit the usual format. Its part love story, part ghost story with an element of mystery and all three combinations made it a book that I couldn’t put down.

I would love to read more by this very talented author.

I couldn’t end this review without giving a mention to Adam and his delicious sounding cakes – this is the perfect read to accompany a hot chocolate and a large slice of something very calorific!

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Troubador Publishing for the digital copy to review. ( )

Alice Hart has just gone through a divorce because of an affair her husband had with his secretary. The escape route was already in place forAlice because three years earlier she and her ex had bought their retirement home, New Cottage. The house had been built many years ago by a businesswoman, the village cheesemaker. New Cottage needed renovating and Alice hires Richard Wainwright, a local builder. Richard had been recommended by Owen Maltby, a man Alice recently met at a Cafe. Both Richard and Owen are attracted to Alice, but it soon becomes obvious that Alice is falling for Owen. The problems soon unfold when Alice is told by a friend that Owen is a wierdo and rather creepy. Owen is known as the local village charmer. People went to Owen for minor ailments and sometimes more serious problems. Many of the village people swear Owen is better than a doctor with his herb mixtures and concoctions he uses for treatments.

Strange things begin to happen. Richard is working in the barn and discovers a tiny skull. Alice hears strange crying during the night and is seeing Owen in places where it just isn't logical that he could be. Alice was finding it hard to trust Owen. She was not a great believer in the paranormal, but strange things were occurring and there just didn't seem to be a normal explanation.

The story has a mixture of mystery, drama, romance, and paranormal happenings. The premise of the story grabbed my attention early on, but it was just too drawn out and my enjoyment of the book soon diminished. On a positive note - the author had a creative way of weaving this multi-layered story together and it did have a satisfying conclusion. It was a deep and thought provoking storyline with many twists and turns throughout. But, unfortunately, I found this book to be just lukewarm, falling a bit flat for me. My rating - 3 stars.

I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this book. The opinions shared are solely my responsibility. ( )