BLOG TOUR: 27 Church Street: The Gathering Storm - A. J. Hobart

Kidderminster Town Hall, July, 1910

A glittering family celebration

The Stretton family spare no expense as the heads of their medical dynasty, Samuel and Kate, mark their golden wedding anniversary at Kidderminster Town Hall. Daughter Katie fights to ensure everything goes to plan. But family divisions soon come to the fore in a very public way, fuelling gossip that will keep the town talking for weeks.

A transatlantic threat

Meanwhile, the social fabric of this famous carpet-making town is being threatened by a surprise arrival. Ambitious American carpet-tycoon Calvin Whitmore has designs on disrupting the established order. Whitmore’s son Charles is far from convinced about his father’s plans. Can Katie support him to find the courage to finally face down his father?

A lethal epidemic

As the future of Kidderminster is being fought over, the town’s population is threatened by a deadly outbreak of smallpox. Principal surgeon Lionel Stretton, son of Samuel, must inspire his hard-pressed team at the infirmary to save as many people as possible. Under the strain, more buried family secrets emerge, secrets that threaten to destroy the family’s unity and reputation forever. 

What did I think?

Hobeck don't just publish good books, they write them too!  27 Church Street: The Gathering Storm is Adrian Hobart's (the Ho in Hobeck) debut novel and it is absolutely brilliant.

Set at the beginning of the 20th century in Kidderminster, I was immediately transported back in time and across the miles by the evocative and atmospheric writing.  It's quite a busy novel with a lot of characters and a setting that takes the reader on a trip to the carpet mills and the town's hospital but I was completely invested in the Stretton family's story and couldn't put the book down.  I did sometimes mix up the characters though, as the upper class did like to use the same names and I often mixed up Katie with her mother Kate.

I love that some of the characters are based on real people and I enjoyed learning about the Stretton family.  I hadn't heard of the Stretton surgeons (Samuel, Lionel and John) before but what an amazing legacy they have left the medical world.  Lionel introduced the use of tincture of iodine for skin sterilisation and anyone who has had surgery and been left with yellow-tinged skin has Lionel Stretton to thank for keeping their skin clean and germ-free.

As well as being a medical drama with an outbreak of smallpox, it's also very entertaining with the arrival of a brash American carpet-tycoon who plans to take over all of the mills and even smallpox isn't going to get in his way.  Calvin's antics really did make me laugh out loud - what a fabulously bonkers character!

Atmospheric, evocative and moving, 27 Church Street: The Gathering Storm is an outstanding debut novel and a fantastic start to an exciting new series about the Stretton family.  It's a must-read for fans of historical fiction and I can't wait to read more.

I received a gifted paperback to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Hobeck Books

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Just a Small Town - Paul Linggood

 

A small town that could be anywhere: industry in decline, streets in decay, many have left, while those left behind take short-term joy in drugs. Four young people are among the left behind. Alex consumes heroin to escape his abusive father. Jim hides from guilt after the death of the friend he didn't save. Chelsi's brother killed a local boy, and ostracism pushes her towards a rival gang, prostitution and loneliness. Danny is a hustler but needs protection from the drug gang that supplies him. Can any of them survive the addiction, gang life, isolation and manipulation? Their small town could be anywhere.

What did I think?

Now and again you find a book that stays with you so long after reading that you can't get it out of your head, that book for me is Just a Small Town.  It's quite a short book at only 180 pages but every single word has been chosen carefully resulting in a gripping, gritty and brilliant read.

Just a Small Town is a clever title in itself as it could be set absolutely anywhere, you just need to read your local newspaper to see similarities to this book in your own area.  The story follows four young people who live in a deprived area and it's heartbreaking to see them transform from innocent children to doing whatever they need to do to survive.  Only the strong survive in this town.

I love how each chapter is dedicated to a particular character and their various guises as they change over time.  It made me so angry to see how these youngsters were groomed and manipulated and it's even more shocking when you realise that this sort of thing does actually happen in real life.  It's so thought-provoking and I think we really need to help deprived areas to give children a chance at life; no child should have to grow up so quickly and in such difficult circumstances.  I'll get off my soapbox now!

Just a Small Town is an exceptional book and a brilliant debut; Paul Linggood brings this eye-opening story to life through his outstanding writing that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could.  The writing is so vibrant and the characters are so well developed and multi-dimensional that I could almost see them leaping from the page.  I don't want to give anything away but I have to say that the ending is just brilliant.  Have a virtual round of applause Mr Linggood. 

One of the best debuts I have read this year, Just a Small Town is a tour de force from Paul Linggood and highly recommended reading.  This is a perfect book to discuss at book club or with friends; I'll certainly be talking about it for a long time!

Many thanks to Paul Linggood for sending me a copy of his book to read and review; all opinions are my own.

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UK.Bookshop.org

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