Blow on a Dead Man's Embers is a wonderful piece of storytelling, rich
in atmosphere and full of characters that leap from the page. It is a
gripping and moving portrait of a society emerging from the shadow of
war, and of Non Davies, an unforgettable woman out of kilter with her
time.
In the aftermath of the Great War, Non Davies wakes one morning to find her husband crouching under the kitchen table in a cold sweat and with fear in his eyes, shouldering an imaginary rifle. During the intense heat of that summer she forces herself to sit and watch him, knowing she has to discover what has changed her Davey so completely. A mysterious letter addressed to Davey gives her the clue she needs and takes her to London in search of an answer. When she returns home Non realizes that the dark secrets of Davey's behaviour are working their way ever closer to the surface - secrets that will shatter the fragile happiness of their community if they ever become known.
'Extremely compelling...I loved this novel.' - Catherine O'Flynn on The Earth Hums in B Flat
Author
About Mari Strachan
Mari Strachan has been immersed in books all her life. She has worked as a librarian in academic, school, public, private and prison libraries. She has also been a book reviewer, researcher, translator, copy writer and web editor. She and her husband live part-time on a tiny smallholding in the hills of Ceredigion, West Wales, and part-time on a narrowboat on the Grand Union Canal in London, where much of The Earth Hums in B Flat was written.
