Black Sheep Cottage

by Michelle Angharad Pashley

Erica has been receiving text messages intended for someone called Dave and all her attempts to inform the various senders that she is not Dave have failed. As the the texts continue she learns more about him and her friend, Maggie, decides they should track him down. After all, what possible harm could there be in playing private detectives?

As Erica and Dave start a relationship, the facts become increasingly unsettling. Maggie is determined to expose the truth, but Erica is initially more willing to forgive outbursts of rage and u explained incidents, until the story becomes too uncomfortable and uncertainty, suspicion and fear take hold. But have the two friends exposed a crime and if so, what is the truth buried in the secrets being kept?

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when it was still warm from the press and really enjoyed it, reading very quickly through in about four sessions. The style put me in mind of R. D. Wingfield's 'Frost' series of novels - on the surface all light and breezy - but knowing there was a darkness lurking not far below. I'm privileged to having met Michelle (getting my Black Sheep Cottage novel signed at a Cinnamon Press event...) I'm certainly looking forward to the next installment.

[K H Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

Enjoyed the book immensely. Would highly recommend. Very clever twist. I'm looking forward to reading Michelle's next book! Well done!

[A.R. Ashworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased a copy of the book. Pashley has crafted a juicy little recipe for a mystery. Begin with two estranged women. Reconnect them. Fold in a charming, attentive new boyfriend, a diverse group of friends, and a missing girl from the past. Season it with mysterious text and email messages. Then find a sympathetic, conscientious detective willing to watch it simmer. Serve it up with a seriously twisty ending at a remote cottage in the Yorkshire dales.

Pashley’s debut novel is charming, quirky, and fast-paced. I say quirky, because unlike most mysteries, she drives the plot forward through unrelentingly witty dialog between the protagonists, mixed with police lingo and forensic boffin-speak (her portraits of the SOCO technician and pathologist are priceless). Think “Nick and Nora Charles meet Inspector Lewis.”

Black Sheep Cottage is well worth a read.

[Kate Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got Black Sheep Cottage as it was the book of the month in the Cinnamon Press book club, so it was a surprise and I kept it for a winter's weekend when I could curl up with a good book. It didn't disappoint. Part police procedural, part psychological thriller, it is pacey, full of humour, and well characterized. Well done to this author for an impressive debut novel, I shall look out for the next one.

[Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spanning nearly a decade of events in Yorkshire, London, and Paris, Michelle Angharad Pashley’s pathos-driven Black Sheep Cottage is a crime thriller with a clever literary style. Instead of focusing on just one hero and limiting us to a narrow perspective, the attention of the novel is on the tragic event at the heart of its plot. The fateful uncovering of that incident takes us from one POV to the next, so that we might see some of the story through Erica, a struggling writer, or her friend Maggie, and other portions via the paternal detective Joe. In this way, then, the characters of Pashley’s book come to life through their relationships with one another, and it is how their lives interact, by chance or design, that moves the story forward. Quick, witty dialogue and a grasp of psychological nuance, as well as a rich, descriptive prose style, allows Pashley to beautifully realise an account of human ingenuity as well as cruelty, and most of all an exploration of the way in which we are defined—for good and ill—by our connections to one another.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great little book...read it in a couple of days as couldn't put it down....intriguing, and nicely written...reminded me of the old classic" whodunnits", but with more depth and a nice bit of humour thrown in. interesting characters, even if some are rather odd....yet oddly endearing.
a cracker of a book
will definitely read more by this wonderful author

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great debut novel. Part light hearted, part crime drama, part psychological thriller with a good little twist. The characters were so relatable and believable. I couldn't put this one down and read it in a couple of days. Really looking forward to meeting the author at an upcoming event and buying another of her books.