The Camelot Club

This is a book with an emerging mystery at the heart of a small community. The book is narrated in the present tense, bringing immediacy to events and full impact for the reader. The reader is taken into the life of Little Meddlyn, a sleepy rural village at one remove from the towns and cities of its County, a traditional setting where rural crafts and customs are still remembered. The village lines the north bank of an archetypal English trout river, which David (narrator) fishes with skill, and where row boats paddle dreamily past The Row, a choice line of characterful houses with willow trees and swans at the foot of their sloping terraced gardens, and which form the centrepiece for the action. A 'For Sale' sign goes up 'The Beeches', the principal mansion in the middle of The Row, but the owners claim that the sign is bogus, take it down, but then extraordinarily replace it, perplexing neighbours, inviting purchasers' inquiries, and leading the whole community into a conundrum of inexorable change. As David works his way through the twists and turns of uncovering a clever plot behind the 'For Sale' sign, he is scandalised at the degree of interference in Little Meddlyn's life which is revealed, and he rounds on George Camberwell, the Duke of Stoarvale and principal villain of the piece, for his inhumane actions. After this confrontation, David examines the reasons for his own outlook which led him to square up to the Duke's intentions, and he recognises the influence of his father, and of a formative upbringing within the influence of the village's Church. Family values, community identity, and the English society of 2001, the year of the narrative, all come into focus. David's Christian knowledge and values pop up here and there for our examination - he has an angle on life which the reader is gradually and gently invited to examine, and the book will therefore appeal to members of the English church community. That said, the wider spectrum of characters within the book includes all types, and the plot is based on all the dynamics of English country life, making a clear case for rural regeneration, which will interest both the sociologist and the countryman. There is thus considerable substance in the intentions of the plot, but this does not distract from the onrush of a gripping tale, as the reader is swept forward through encounters and situations which are to be savoured for their literary descriptions and their delightful human insight. It is this flow of summertime fragrance and extensive dialogue which sponsors the cover assertion that "This book will help the reader fall in love with life all over again."