The saga of the Families of Fairley Terrace are back on local bookshelves, having been released in paperback very recently. ‘The Widow’s Promise’ is the latest book by local author, Janet Tanner, as she returns under this particular pen name, Jennie Felton.

This time, we enter the world of Carina Talbot, and the author, who always likes to write of strong women in her novels, does not disappoint. There is Sally, her headstrong sister-in-law, who works on the family farm and later, wealthy Isobel Luckington, who has a pivotal role to play as the story unravels.

As with any of Tanner/Felton’s novels, this is one to sit and pore over for hours at a time, it envelopes you in the story which, as you stay with it, becomes more and more fast-paced. It begins with the fatal farm accident of Robert Talbot, Carina’s husband, seemingly kicked in the head by the family’s beloved horse, Captain, and leaving Carina and Sally to run the failing family farm, with the women left to care for two very young children, Meg and Mattie, and Robert’s grandfather. Prior to, and in the background of all of this, the reader is aware of a sinister history behind the Talbot family, and how Robert and Sally were taken in by their grandparents on the farm, in turn throwing a shadow over their future.

As things go from bad to worse, and reeling from the sudden death of her husband, Carina finds herself thrown into the path of wealthy landowner, Lord Calvert Melbrook, owing him money after she dam- ages his car. The pair instantly strike up a love/hate relationship, and whilst it is quite obvious from the start how this story will end, no one could guess the twists and turns that this tale will take in the meantime.

Enter young and handsome farm hand, Frank, who instantly catches Sally’s attention, telling the family he was a friend of Robert’s. Before long, he is helping at the farm and becoming far too close to the family and their interests – can he be trusted? And what are his motives?

As with many of Tanner’s books, this novel pays tribute to the area she knows and loves, highlighting many of the locals’ ways and that particular part of our cultural history. Whilst the previous books have focused on the mining community, this one moves over to farming, a subject she seems very comfortable with.

Whilst the books stand comfortably on their own in the Families of Fairley Terrace series, (The Widow’s Promise being the fourth), there are always links back to the others, with the lives of the characters interwoven.

The fifth book, ‘The Sister’s Secret’, has now been finished by Tanner, with hardback publication due in September and paperback in 2019. Our local author now has a further two book contract for two family sagas with similar background and time set, and she is about a third of the way through one of these, ‘The Stolen Child’.

Readers can find ‘The Widow’s Promise’ and the previous novels in the series; All the Dark Secrets, The Miner’s Daughter and The Girl Below Stairs in all good retailers and they are also available as audio and e-books. You can also follow at: www.facebook.com/JennieFeltonAuthor and @Jennie_Felton