When They Lay Bare - Andrew Greig

I love Andrew Greig as an author - his works carry such an emotional strength to them that the characters come alive on the page. This book is set in the border lands in an almost no-mans land between Scotland and England. The book begins in with the feeling that you are catching up with the story after it has already started. The main characters are introduced and piece by piece the backstory is explained. Who is this marnie woman? What is the significance of the plates she carries? Is the laird's son as nice a person as we initially think? each character is a cleverly layered characterisation, they are given feelings, emotions, actions and thoughts that ring ...  Read the complete review

An intriguing and compelling read, set in the Scottish Borders. It tells the story of two feuding families as depicted on a set of antique plates. However, history is inextricably entwined with the present as a young woman arrives in the area and hints of her links with the past. There follows a tale of many twists, involving lust, love, envy and revenge, and this is certainly no stuffy historical novel. I did find the story a bit difficult to get into at first and it has one feature which I found slightly imitating. It is written in the first person, but there are several major players in the story. So in each chapter it is necessary to reorient and work ...  Read the complete review