Part of the joy of being a Bookshop owner is the opportunity to read a wide variety of books, some you adore and cannot wait to share with the world, some not so much but you know they will be perfect for that certain customer and every now and then a book lands on the doormat and as you turn it in your hands and start to read the first few pages you just know - this book has IT - this book will grab you by the shoulders and pull you straight into its narrative and won't let you go until you have reached the very last word of the very last sentence on the very last page.
For me these include classics, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper L:ee and most recently How To Catch A Mole by Marc Hamer, Humankind by Rutger Bregman, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stewart and, of course, Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden.
I do judge a book by its cover and the cover for Mrs Death is glorious and offers the start of what is a magnificent journey. If one were to offer a genre beyond fiction it would fall into 'magical realism' but do not put this book into anything but fiction, do not read the reviews, splendid though they are, because in my opinion, in the same way seeing trailers ruins the best parts of a movie reading the review will ensure you bring a kind of pre-judgement to the intoxicating story of Mrs Death.
My advice is clear your diary, pick up a copy of Mrs Death Misses Death and allow yourself to be swept away.
Congratulations Selena Godden, another much deserved award for Mrs Death Miss Death.