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A Long Shadow
'Rural noir' from the acclaimed author of the Summerstoke trilogy. A young farmer is found dead. Was it suicide? Was it an accident? Or was it murder? Past events, unknown, unnoticed, cast long shadows, and as his widow struggles to find answers, she suspects her life, too, is threatened. Caroline Kington's absorbing new thriller is set at the turn of the century amid the BSE crisis.
272 pages, Paperback
Published December 5, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 21, 2019
Split across different timelines and with different narrators, 'A Long Shadow' is an engrossing and intriguing farming dynastic drama. Beginning with Susan,in 1943, running away from a home for unwed mothers, moving on to Kate,in 2001 whose husband has been found dead on their farm in uncertain circumstances, then back again to 1990,where Kate and husband Dan meet for the first time, this takes a long view of how the actions of one person ripple through the generations that follow.
Kate and Dan run Dan's family homestead of Watersmeet.After he dies from a shotgun wound, not only does Kate have to reconcile herself with it being a potential suicide-particularly because of the debt his death uncovered and his recently acquired insurance policy-she has to comfort her 2 young children and take over responsibility for all the people hired by the farm. Being an only child, there are no siblings to help out, children Rosie and Ben are too young, and there is a developer snapping at her heels to turn the land into holiday cottages. Without a clue how to run a farm, she bears the weight of a responsibility she is unprepared for-
Oh my God!’ she groaned. ‘What a fraud! What am I doing setting myself at the head of these
people? They know far more about farming than I do. I can call myself the boss, but it’s another
thing to be it…and I’ve so much to learn…’
And she thought of Dan, who had always conducted himself with such quiet authority she’d taken
his role for granted. As his wife, as the farmer’s wife, she’d shared some of that authority, but that
had been the extent of her influence.
And now she was stepping into Dan’s shoes. Still unable to distinguish a heifer from a bullock, she
was becoming a farmer. She was taking on a role that would have been unimaginable to the
ambitious Arts graduate, intent on conquering the media world, thirteen years previously.
No wonder she had quaked when she’d asked for the support of the workforce.
No wonder she felt overwhelmed that they’d given it.
Susan, meanwhile, is all alone in the world, discarded and dispatched to spend her weeks before the birth of her baby doing back breaking chores as penitence,anticipating a 6 week period with her child before he/she is whisked away to who knows where. She shows remarkabe courage in running away given that her husband is missing, presumed dead in the war and she is alone. So added to the mystery of who the baby she is carrying is, is how it links then, in 1990 and 2001 to Watersmeet and the fallout of Dan's death.
Dan and Kate's courtship shows how they took over Watersmeet, yet despite being a couple, Dan kept so much from Kate, shouldering the burden of day to day farming without involving her,so that when he dies, she is effectively clueless as to how to run the farm.It adds poignancy to the death as the reader learns about Dan in flashback, seeing how he struggled to keep the farm going from tradition, honour and pride.
The stories interweave with each other as you see the actions of one young woman having ripple effects half a lifetime later.The mystery of Dan's death is later shown from the perspective of Rosie and Ben and the effects on his children, as you ponder, does the title 'A Long Shadow' refers to a sin,whose is it and why? The expectations of a society to have a certain set of people to behave in a certain set of ways creates the catastrophic events which slowly unfold in the book.
At its heart is the farm, the very real struggles that farmers have to turn a profit in a world where competition between suppliers has never been on such a knife edge-those in the UK can clearly remember the media frenzy at the time about BSE (aka as 'Mad Cow disease') and Foot and Mouth which caused devastating effects on families who had farmed for generations. The very real spectre of preferring death over perceived failure, masculinity and pride lethally entwined with selling off parcels of land to keep a farm going, all of these are touched on to really drive home the effects of public perceptions of what a farm is and does. The things we, as consumers, expect, and the reality of a working farm are diametrcially opposed and the lack of government support along with a growing population are all contributing factors in the shocking rise of adverse mental health in agricultural workers, and the rise in suicides.
This is not to say that this novel is a 'whydunnit' about Dan, nor a searing expostion of English farming issues, it quietly and meaningfully frames a very real problem within the context of this particular family and leaves you researching how you,as a person, can best try to support farmers as a consumer at the very least.
A moving portrait of grief, love and the complexities of life, this is an excellent read that I would highly recommend.
Kate and Dan run Dan's family homestead of Watersmeet.After he dies from a shotgun wound, not only does Kate have to reconcile herself with it being a potential suicide-particularly because of the debt his death uncovered and his recently acquired insurance policy-she has to comfort her 2 young children and take over responsibility for all the people hired by the farm. Being an only child, there are no siblings to help out, children Rosie and Ben are too young, and there is a developer snapping at her heels to turn the land into holiday cottages. Without a clue how to run a farm, she bears the weight of a responsibility she is unprepared for-
Oh my God!’ she groaned. ‘What a fraud! What am I doing setting myself at the head of these
people? They know far more about farming than I do. I can call myself the boss, but it’s another
thing to be it…and I’ve so much to learn…’
And she thought of Dan, who had always conducted himself with such quiet authority she’d taken
his role for granted. As his wife, as the farmer’s wife, she’d shared some of that authority, but that
had been the extent of her influence.
And now she was stepping into Dan’s shoes. Still unable to distinguish a heifer from a bullock, she
was becoming a farmer. She was taking on a role that would have been unimaginable to the
ambitious Arts graduate, intent on conquering the media world, thirteen years previously.
No wonder she had quaked when she’d asked for the support of the workforce.
No wonder she felt overwhelmed that they’d given it.
Susan, meanwhile, is all alone in the world, discarded and dispatched to spend her weeks before the birth of her baby doing back breaking chores as penitence,anticipating a 6 week period with her child before he/she is whisked away to who knows where. She shows remarkabe courage in running away given that her husband is missing, presumed dead in the war and she is alone. So added to the mystery of who the baby she is carrying is, is how it links then, in 1990 and 2001 to Watersmeet and the fallout of Dan's death.
Dan and Kate's courtship shows how they took over Watersmeet, yet despite being a couple, Dan kept so much from Kate, shouldering the burden of day to day farming without involving her,so that when he dies, she is effectively clueless as to how to run the farm.It adds poignancy to the death as the reader learns about Dan in flashback, seeing how he struggled to keep the farm going from tradition, honour and pride.
The stories interweave with each other as you see the actions of one young woman having ripple effects half a lifetime later.The mystery of Dan's death is later shown from the perspective of Rosie and Ben and the effects on his children, as you ponder, does the title 'A Long Shadow' refers to a sin,whose is it and why? The expectations of a society to have a certain set of people to behave in a certain set of ways creates the catastrophic events which slowly unfold in the book.
At its heart is the farm, the very real struggles that farmers have to turn a profit in a world where competition between suppliers has never been on such a knife edge-those in the UK can clearly remember the media frenzy at the time about BSE (aka as 'Mad Cow disease') and Foot and Mouth which caused devastating effects on families who had farmed for generations. The very real spectre of preferring death over perceived failure, masculinity and pride lethally entwined with selling off parcels of land to keep a farm going, all of these are touched on to really drive home the effects of public perceptions of what a farm is and does. The things we, as consumers, expect, and the reality of a working farm are diametrcially opposed and the lack of government support along with a growing population are all contributing factors in the shocking rise of adverse mental health in agricultural workers, and the rise in suicides.
This is not to say that this novel is a 'whydunnit' about Dan, nor a searing expostion of English farming issues, it quietly and meaningfully frames a very real problem within the context of this particular family and leaves you researching how you,as a person, can best try to support farmers as a consumer at the very least.
A moving portrait of grief, love and the complexities of life, this is an excellent read that I would highly recommend.
June 9, 2019
Set against farming challenges in the UK at the turn of the century, A Long Shadow weaves between characters to build up the storyline, each section neatly slotting into place irrespective of when it is set.
The story starts with the end, that is, it starts with the death of the farmer Dan Maddicott. Determined to find out the cause his wife Kate sets out on a journey of discovery, both about herself, the family that she has married into and the history of the farm.
Well written with engaging vocabulary this book was hard to put down. I found myself excited to settle in each night and explore the mystery of Dan’s death and Watersmeet Farm. The individual characters really stood out although I feel that some of my readers may find it hard to read the chapters focussing on Frank. They did add to the drama, complexity of human relationships and depth of his character though. Kate stands out as being a strong woman, faced with adversity, scepticism but underpinned by courage and perseverance. I really warmed to her and willed her to succeed in managing the farm against the background of an extremely difficult time with the BSE crisis and the loss of her husband.
The only disappointment for me is that it feels as though Kate gets her answer by the end of the novel, but I was left wishing that some of the conversations that her late husband had or thought processes he had gone through had been made clear to her too. I also felt that perhaps whilst Kate was satisfied with her line of enquiry and subsequent discoveries these didn’t appear to be shared widely with other key characters and the book ended somewhat abruptly. Then again, perhaps there would be scope for a sequel which, if there were, I would queue up to buy!
This thought-provoking novel moved me and I would recommend to anyone who is interested in family drama and mystery. It is one that will stay with me and I can see it being a hugely popular read.
The story starts with the end, that is, it starts with the death of the farmer Dan Maddicott. Determined to find out the cause his wife Kate sets out on a journey of discovery, both about herself, the family that she has married into and the history of the farm.
Well written with engaging vocabulary this book was hard to put down. I found myself excited to settle in each night and explore the mystery of Dan’s death and Watersmeet Farm. The individual characters really stood out although I feel that some of my readers may find it hard to read the chapters focussing on Frank. They did add to the drama, complexity of human relationships and depth of his character though. Kate stands out as being a strong woman, faced with adversity, scepticism but underpinned by courage and perseverance. I really warmed to her and willed her to succeed in managing the farm against the background of an extremely difficult time with the BSE crisis and the loss of her husband.
The only disappointment for me is that it feels as though Kate gets her answer by the end of the novel, but I was left wishing that some of the conversations that her late husband had or thought processes he had gone through had been made clear to her too. I also felt that perhaps whilst Kate was satisfied with her line of enquiry and subsequent discoveries these didn’t appear to be shared widely with other key characters and the book ended somewhat abruptly. Then again, perhaps there would be scope for a sequel which, if there were, I would queue up to buy!
This thought-provoking novel moved me and I would recommend to anyone who is interested in family drama and mystery. It is one that will stay with me and I can see it being a hugely popular read.
May 12, 2019
A Long Shadow by Caroline Kington is a family drama, set in the early 2000’s..
Kate’s husband, Dan has been found dead in one of his farms fields…..was this an accident or suicide?
Dan, a farmer with horrendous financial problems has Kate and his young family to deal with the aftermath of his death and the farms debts……a recent life insurance policy just increases the suspicions….
While a suspenseful drama, there’s a lot of emotion too, I felt so sorry for the family. I also enjoyed the chapters giving a background and history leading up to Dan’s death…thoroughly engrossing writing by Caroline Kington.
Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and for the promotional materials and a free copy of the ebook. This is my honest, unbiased review.
Kate’s husband, Dan has been found dead in one of his farms fields…..was this an accident or suicide?
Dan, a farmer with horrendous financial problems has Kate and his young family to deal with the aftermath of his death and the farms debts……a recent life insurance policy just increases the suspicions….
While a suspenseful drama, there’s a lot of emotion too, I felt so sorry for the family. I also enjoyed the chapters giving a background and history leading up to Dan’s death…thoroughly engrossing writing by Caroline Kington.
Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and for the promotional materials and a free copy of the ebook. This is my honest, unbiased review.
May 10, 2019
A Long Shadow is a fabulous family drama full of secrets and tragedy. I like the bit of mystery here as Kate tries to reveal what actually caused her husband, Dan’s death.
Caroline Kington has penned a beautifully written novel. The setting is beautiful and I felt as if I was transported into the novel. I loved the characters and the perfectly paced plot that kept me drawn in.
I highly recommend checking out A Long Shadow. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Rachel's Random Resources. All opinions are my own.*
Caroline Kington has penned a beautifully written novel. The setting is beautiful and I felt as if I was transported into the novel. I loved the characters and the perfectly paced plot that kept me drawn in.
I highly recommend checking out A Long Shadow. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Rachel's Random Resources. All opinions are my own.*
May 22, 2019
This was a really enjoyable read, and the story moves at a good pace.
The book in split into different chapters, which concentrate on the main characters and their stories. Kate’s husband, Dan unexpectedly dies while working on their farm. Absorbed by grief Kate has to decide what is best for her family, to sell their farm and move or stay there with all their memories. However Kate isn’t convinced that is it an accident and resolves to find the truth.
The book in split into different chapters, which concentrate on the main characters and their stories. Kate’s husband, Dan unexpectedly dies while working on their farm. Absorbed by grief Kate has to decide what is best for her family, to sell their farm and move or stay there with all their memories. However Kate isn’t convinced that is it an accident and resolves to find the truth.
June 17, 2019
A Long Shadow, by Caroline Kington, is a family saga set on a farm in the English West Country. It includes mystery, history and suspense. There are beautiful people and admirers vying for their attention. There are unpleasant characters and, by the end, the reasons behind their behaviour. There is the death of a farmer, Dan Maddicott, and a trail of clues to keep the reader guessing if his demise was accidental or something more sinister.
Before laying the groundwork for the main storyline, the reader is introduced to Susan who, as a teenager during the Second World War, fell pregnant to an American GI. Her cruel stepmother packed her off to a house of shame where such fallen women would give birth before handing their babies over for adoption. Susan plans her escape but ends up in an equally perilous predicament. The story moves back and forth between Susan’s subsequent life and that of Kate, Dan’s wife, at the start of the new millennium.
A third timeline details Dan’s life, cut short when he dies due to the discharge of a shotgun. Dan’s family have owned and run Watersmeet Farm for generations. Although an only child he has many cousins, two of whom, Max and Mary, he saw regularly throughout his childhood. Their visits to the farm ceased after an episode on a tenant’s property that inflamed a long running enmity. Jem and then Frank Leach are thorns in the side of the Maddicotts, but ones their landlords have little appetite to displace.
Dan lives within a close knit community and becomes the envy of his many friends. Until the BSE and then Foot and Mouth crises his farm prospered. The cattle he raises are regarded as of high quality. Dan wins the hand of the beautiful Kate who becomes his loving wife. We learn of their meeting and courtship; we are introduced to their two small children. That Dan’s death occurred shortly after he took out a life insurance policy has set local tongues wagging and causes his grieving widow to dig deeper into the farm’s history.
There are many supporting characters adding colour and shade. Dan has a loyal farm manager who supports Kate after her husband’s death. There are other farm hands who have varying inter-rivalries. Dan’s mother is calm and supportive and also a terrible cook. Kate’s mother in Cambridge is garrulous and selfish, blatantly favouring her younger daughter, the enchanting Emily.
Kate’s admirers include Max, an old flame. She grows closer to a widower who owns and runs a nearby farm. Her friends include Mary whose marriage suffers its own challenges. Acquaintances rally from across the country when Kate requires assistance. Despite the difficulties encountered over time by characters – domestic violence, alcoholism and homelessness, culls of livestock – at its heart these people have an enviable support network.
The tragedies, the comic characters, the question of how Dan died, keep the reader turning the pages. The writing is polished and well paced with a structure that maintains interest. The denouement tied up threads without changing characters’ behaviour.
There were few snags in the writing. I was, as ever, irritated by the need to mention a woman’s soft breasts. I was perplexed that pubic hair could be described as silky. Can people have button eyes? – I couldn’t picture what this meant. Such minor issues can be accepted when the tale, although in places idealistic, held its reader’s attention.
I enjoyed the moments of humour such as the older ladies’ competitive grandparenting. Emily was granted a great deal of power but perhaps men do fall so hard for a pretty woman who showers them with attention. Ivan was, unusually, an MP I regarded with a degree of empathy.
The setting offered an interesting perspective on farming with its never ending demands and ingrained duty. Taking Kate, a city girl, and placing her far from her burgeoning media career, much to the chagrin of family and friends, allowed the financial problems Dan encountered and then didn’t share with her some authenticity. The difficulty young farmers had finding partners now that women expect greater support and autonomy was just one of several asides to ponder.
This is a book worth considering if looking for a tale that is neatly written and not particularly demanding. Rural drama with sufficient variety and suspense to maintain reader engagement.
Before laying the groundwork for the main storyline, the reader is introduced to Susan who, as a teenager during the Second World War, fell pregnant to an American GI. Her cruel stepmother packed her off to a house of shame where such fallen women would give birth before handing their babies over for adoption. Susan plans her escape but ends up in an equally perilous predicament. The story moves back and forth between Susan’s subsequent life and that of Kate, Dan’s wife, at the start of the new millennium.
A third timeline details Dan’s life, cut short when he dies due to the discharge of a shotgun. Dan’s family have owned and run Watersmeet Farm for generations. Although an only child he has many cousins, two of whom, Max and Mary, he saw regularly throughout his childhood. Their visits to the farm ceased after an episode on a tenant’s property that inflamed a long running enmity. Jem and then Frank Leach are thorns in the side of the Maddicotts, but ones their landlords have little appetite to displace.
Dan lives within a close knit community and becomes the envy of his many friends. Until the BSE and then Foot and Mouth crises his farm prospered. The cattle he raises are regarded as of high quality. Dan wins the hand of the beautiful Kate who becomes his loving wife. We learn of their meeting and courtship; we are introduced to their two small children. That Dan’s death occurred shortly after he took out a life insurance policy has set local tongues wagging and causes his grieving widow to dig deeper into the farm’s history.
There are many supporting characters adding colour and shade. Dan has a loyal farm manager who supports Kate after her husband’s death. There are other farm hands who have varying inter-rivalries. Dan’s mother is calm and supportive and also a terrible cook. Kate’s mother in Cambridge is garrulous and selfish, blatantly favouring her younger daughter, the enchanting Emily.
Kate’s admirers include Max, an old flame. She grows closer to a widower who owns and runs a nearby farm. Her friends include Mary whose marriage suffers its own challenges. Acquaintances rally from across the country when Kate requires assistance. Despite the difficulties encountered over time by characters – domestic violence, alcoholism and homelessness, culls of livestock – at its heart these people have an enviable support network.
The tragedies, the comic characters, the question of how Dan died, keep the reader turning the pages. The writing is polished and well paced with a structure that maintains interest. The denouement tied up threads without changing characters’ behaviour.
There were few snags in the writing. I was, as ever, irritated by the need to mention a woman’s soft breasts. I was perplexed that pubic hair could be described as silky. Can people have button eyes? – I couldn’t picture what this meant. Such minor issues can be accepted when the tale, although in places idealistic, held its reader’s attention.
I enjoyed the moments of humour such as the older ladies’ competitive grandparenting. Emily was granted a great deal of power but perhaps men do fall so hard for a pretty woman who showers them with attention. Ivan was, unusually, an MP I regarded with a degree of empathy.
The setting offered an interesting perspective on farming with its never ending demands and ingrained duty. Taking Kate, a city girl, and placing her far from her burgeoning media career, much to the chagrin of family and friends, allowed the financial problems Dan encountered and then didn’t share with her some authenticity. The difficulty young farmers had finding partners now that women expect greater support and autonomy was just one of several asides to ponder.
This is a book worth considering if looking for a tale that is neatly written and not particularly demanding. Rural drama with sufficient variety and suspense to maintain reader engagement.
September 13, 2019
There are multiple timelines throughout this book which for me made the book a really interesting read. I personally enjoy reading a book when aspects of the past are slowly revealed to the reader, enough that I am interested to find out what happened, but not too much that there’s no reveal towards the end. The author has done that really well with this book.
We’re first introduced to Susan, back in the period around the second world war and I was left wondering how she fits into the present day story as she is never mentioned. We then follow Dan and Kate who run and live on Watersmeet Farm in the 2000’s and read chapters from each of their perspectives about how they met and came to raise a family.
The farm is run during the time of the foot and mouth outbreak and I knew it was a pretty dire time for farmers during this period but reading this book I garnered a new perspective on how much pressure and stress people would have endured where farms were their livelihood.
There are quite a few characters in this book and not all of them are likeable. I particularly liked the relationship between Kate and her mother and sister, although not an integral part to the story, I found it humorous how the three of them interact.
This book is what I would call slow burner. It’s not action packed between the pages but there is an interesting story there and one I would consider worth reading. The main theme here is did Dan kill himself? Or was he killed at the hands of someone else?
We’re first introduced to Susan, back in the period around the second world war and I was left wondering how she fits into the present day story as she is never mentioned. We then follow Dan and Kate who run and live on Watersmeet Farm in the 2000’s and read chapters from each of their perspectives about how they met and came to raise a family.
The farm is run during the time of the foot and mouth outbreak and I knew it was a pretty dire time for farmers during this period but reading this book I garnered a new perspective on how much pressure and stress people would have endured where farms were their livelihood.
There are quite a few characters in this book and not all of them are likeable. I particularly liked the relationship between Kate and her mother and sister, although not an integral part to the story, I found it humorous how the three of them interact.
This book is what I would call slow burner. It’s not action packed between the pages but there is an interesting story there and one I would consider worth reading. The main theme here is did Dan kill himself? Or was he killed at the hands of someone else?
June 12, 2020
I think this author is brilliant. Have just read her trilogy, then the above book.
The writing is so good, marvellous characters and strong story lInes.
Will be looking for more stories by Caroline, am positive they will not disappoint.
The writing is so good, marvellous characters and strong story lInes.
Will be looking for more stories by Caroline, am positive they will not disappoint.
September 20, 2022
Reading from my tbr. An interesting family drama that is laced with mystery and potential crime. A split story looking at the present day life of a young mother recently widowed and a dark story of the land around their farm. Engaging and fun
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