Rachel Reviews: By Your Side by Ruth Jones

Ah, Linda Standish! What a character she is! Ruth Jones has taken the voice of a 50-something woman and has her telling a story of love and tragedy and how life and everything that you've treasured can be taken from you in an instant.

I loved this book. Funny and warm with wit throughout, Linda works for the council in Boransay, Scotland in the Unclaimed Heirs Unit, responsible for respectfully disposing of people who have died on their own without any known heir. When she is given one last case, it sees her taken to the Isle of Storrich, a remote and underpopulated Scottish island, to sort out the effects and funeral of Levi Norman.

Running parallel to Linda's story is Levi Norman's, who is a Welshman who likes his own company, a confirmed bachelor. Through flashback, we see how he ended up in Storrich and it is a story of love and loyalty and ultimately, sadness. We see how his life changes dramatically when Diana, a young Irish woman and Jack, her Welsh lover, move into the flat downstairs and Levi becomes drawn into their drama.

So we move between the two stories and this is done with sympathy and humour. Jones is adept at depicting human relationships and reactions and her dialogue is grounded in the every day, giving her characters an immediacy that makes you feel like you know them, can relate to them, even if you would not act in the same way.

What I especially liked is that Linda is a chubby 50 something (much like myself) and yet, she is seizing life and what it has to offer and I especially like her getting together with Brodie and the liberation it presents in terms of the "raunch" which perhaps is not necessarily associated with a woman who is now a grandmother.

I ripped through this book, chuckling at times, feeling the sadness of lost time at others and sympathising with loss that always forms part of human existence and is presented throughout. This book, in fact, was a breath of fresh air, showing as it did a strong female character, in fact, more than one strong female character, which contrasts considerably with the books with other female protagonists that I've read recently.

I would recommend as a read if you want something with a good story which has all the feels and a sprinkling of humour.

Rachel Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐