Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain by Barney Norris

 

This debut novel, set in Salisbury, tells us about five different people linked together because of a car accident. They include Rita, a flower seller who runs a market stall and teenager Sam, who has fallen in love for the first time but his dad is gravely ill. The other characters are an elderly farmer whose wife has just passed away, Liam a heart broken security guard and an army wife who is lonely because her husband is working abroad and her son is away at boarding school.

 

Each chapter is told in the first person of the character. I didn't think all of these worked but they all had moving, sad tales to tell. My favourite was the army wife, and her chapter was written in the form of diary entries.

 

This is a very well written first full novel from an author I expect to hear more about in the years to come.

 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

 

Thanks to Netgalley and Transworld Publishers for my copy in return for an honest review.

 

Publication date: 21st April 2016