William read and liked Anne's review of Blackmoor:

"An excellent debut novel from this 26 year old author, although when reading it you would never guess this is his first book.

The subject and title of the book - Blackmoor - is a old, decaying pit village on the borders of Derbyshire and ...more An excellent debut novel from this 26 year old author, although when reading it you would never guess this is his first book.

The subject and title of the book - Blackmoor - is a old, decaying pit village on the borders of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Blackmoor pit was closed completely after the miner's strike and the village is slowly subsiding and in danger from gases that are building up in the disused pit. Eventually,British Coal decided to demolish Blackmoor and move the residents to a ready made new village just up the road. Beth, her husband and their small son Vincent will never actually live in the new village - this is the story of the disintegration of their little family. Beth is a little different to the usual mining wives - and suffers with mental health problems. The story of how her husband and son cope is the basis of the book.

This is a beautiful read in places - it is quite stark, the language is spare and to the point, but very poignant in places.

I really enjoyed this and look forward to more from this author (less) "