Thursday 30 April 2020

The Cornish Connection - Amanda James


Where extraordinary things happen...you'll find Nancy Cornish

Nancy and Charlie Cornish are happily married and live in Padstow, Cornwall. Nancy works in the Whistling Kettle Cafe and Charlie is a DS in the Truro police. Charlie's a down to earth Cornishman, while Nancy, seemingly an ordinary member of her community, has an extraordinary gift. She is able to make psychic connections with those who have passed, and objects belonging to those still living.

Charlie mostly tries to ignore that aspect of his wife's personality, he can’t abide all that ‘mumbo jumbo’ as he calls it. Then, out of the blue, Nancy leaves her job and decides her mission in life is to use her gift to help others. This is not what Charlie signed up for, and he lets Nancy know about his feelings in no uncertain terms. That is, until he realises she might be a very useful detective...

Helping Charlie find a missing teenager boost Nancy’s confidence, and makes her determined to continue her work. People come to see her because they want her to find a long-lost friend or relative, an object that is dear to them, or a pet who’s gone missing. Helping people find happiness is Nancy’s main aim. Charlie, however, wants her to help him solve crimes.

Will the couple find some common ground? Or will their connection be broken?

The Cornish Connection - a beautifully told, thought-provoking and uplifting story. The perfect feel-good summer read!


What did I think?

I love Amanda James' books and I have read some absolutely brilliant ones over the years but she has really outdone herself with her latest novel and start of a new series, The Cornish Connection.  This book is really something special; it's completely different from anything I've read before and I think it really spices up the crime and mystery genre.

Nancy Cornish is such a warm and charming character; not only does she bake amazing cakes but she has the special gift of psychic ability.  She really does see dead people!  You'd think this would be something her husband Charlie would be used to but he constantly pooh-pooh's Nancy's gift.  That is until it becomes useful to him in his latest police investigation, but even then he won't acknowledge Nancy's input in case his colleagues laugh at him.  I thought Charlie's blatant disregard of Nancy's abilities would make me dislike him but he certainly grew on me.

When Nancy finds she is helping more and more people to reconnect with their loved ones, both alive and dead, she decides to leave her job in the local cafe and set up as a PI: Psychic Investigator.  Her office is the summerhouse at the bottom of her garden and when word spreads about her abilities she sees a growing number of clients asking for her help.

Each case that Nancy works on is like a little story within The Cornish Connection, making the whole novel so vibrant and varied.  Some stories are shocking and disturbing whilst others are heartwarming, beautiful and sometimes amusing.  I loved the mix of characters that Nancy comes across, with each one of them having a special story to tell.  

I'm so glad that The Cornish Connection is the first in a new series as I can't get enough of Nancy Cornish.  I enjoyed it so much that I didn't want it to finish but at the same time I couldn't read it fast enough either.  I'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for the next book in the series.

The Cornish Connection is a quirky, unique and mystical novel filled with a myriad colourful characters.  It's crime and mystery with a supernatural edge and it's absolutely outstanding.  Amanda James has hit the jackpot with Nancy Cornish and scoops a full house of five stars for The Cornish Connection.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

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