Sewing the Shadows Together by Alison Baillie

This books is published by Matador which is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd. My thanks to the publisher and the author for my review copy.


More than thirty years after thirteen-year-old Shona McIver was murdered in a Scottish seaside town, her brother Tom and her best friend Sarah meet again at a school reunion. The tragedy has cast a shadow over their lives, but when DNA evidence shows that the wrong man was convicted of the murder, their relationships and emotions are thrown into turmoil.

In the search for the real killer, suspicion falls on those closest to them: Tom uncovers dark secrets, Sarah's perfect family life begins to crumble, and they are caught up in a web of death, love and deception before the truth finally comes to light.


My Thoughts: 

The book starts of with the poem Bat by D.H. Lawrence. It creates an immediate sense of foreboding and also gives the book its title. I found this story very dark and felt the immediate mystery surrounding the characters and the events of the past.

The locations in the story were written very vividly and pulled me into the story even more. Locations such as Portobello and South Africa. 

The characters all have their own nuances and I particularly couldn't stand Sarah's husband Rory, who I thought was just totally objectionable. However even his character added to the story and I can understand why he was written as he was.

A complete book of mystery, there are elements of family histories, and suspicions. It kept me guessing as the plot cleverly and slowly unravelled throughout the book. This was an excellent example at building the suspense all the way along. Also involved in the plotline is adultery, self esteem and marriage. These other themes only serve to tie all of the strands of the story together expertly.

I found this book to be thrilling, and engaging and proof that we can never really know anybody. Not completely at any rate. A very accomplished and entrancing first novel.

I would definitely recommend it, if you haven't read it already.




About the Author:

Alison Baillie was brought up in Yorkshire by Scottish parents. She studied English at the University of St Andrews and taught in various schools in Edinburgh and later in Switzerland when she moved there.  She enjoys going to crime festivals, reading, writing, travelling, spending time with friends and family and much more. Sewing the Shadows Together is her first novel.

Please visit her website to find out more: http://alisonbaillie.com/