The Storytellers by Sue Heath

 

Happy release day to Sue Heath for her new novel The Storytellers!

Last year I read and loved Sue Heath's novel The Secret Ingredient. It was one of only 3 books that I gave a rating of 5/5 to, so I have been keeping an eye out for a new book by her. I was very excited when I saw the cover and read the description!

The Storytellers is another delightful read about found community, about the power of storytelling and so much more. The book is centred around the local library, where a group of come together to write a short story for a local competition. The rules are simple. Each part of the story must be clearly written by different contributors but come together as a complete story. And the prize? A party with the mayor!

Hattie first comes to the library as she wants to learn to use the computer. She has recently been widowed after many years of unhappy marriage and now she wants to find the man she believes she was in love with many years before. 

Will is the librarian who has moved back to town to look after his dad. He is only in town for a while and hopes to go back to his real job running a bookshop. Things are a bit complicated for Will as his ex girlfriend is also his boss and she is now going out with a man that Will dislikes intensely.

Avril has quit her job and is now searching for what the future might bring. She is also trying to find out anything about her mother who died when she was very young. Her father remarried and Avril doesn't really get along with her stepmother or her two stepsisters. 

Stuart has recently retired and is at something of a loose end. He has a happy marriage although his wife is often very busy with all her different hobbies. Stuart has to get out of the house on Thursdays as he doesn't want to catch an eyeful when his wife is hosting her life drawing art class.

Given that each of our characters are at different places in their lives it makes sense that their sections are all very different, and each of them work through their own issues in their sections of the story. It is a bit of a concern that Hattie does tend to want dead bodies to keep on turning up in her sections!

You couldn't help but cheer the characters on as they wrote their story, willing them on with the hope that they would win the prize. More importantly though, I willed them on as they built bonds with each other, and as they began to help each other.

There were so many great quotes about life and books in this novel, and it was full of humour too. I often found myself smiling for pages afterwards as I read including a particular passage about the local butcher that just had me laughing and smiling for ages.

This is a book that I can see myself rereading if I need a pick me up. At least until the next Sue Heath book comes out anyway!

This was one of the books I nominated for 20 Books of Winter. I am also sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted at The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, British Isles Friday hosted at Joy's Book Blog and the Bookish Books challenge hosted at Bloggin' Bout Books.

Rating 4.5/5