The Little Shop of Found Things

 

The Little Shop of Found Things (Book 1 of 3) by Paula Brackston. New York, St. Martin's Griffin, 2018, 406 pages. ***

 Xanthe and her mother, Flo, buy an antique store in Marlborough to escape their failed relationships in London. With few funds and a love for antiques, they go to an auction to select a few good pieces to sell in the shop. Xanthe has the unique ability to "hear" a piece and something is screaming at her in this auction causing extreme anxiety. It is a silver chatelaine, a clip worn at the waist or hip of the lady of the house. This chatelaine is causing her pulse to race and she can hear whispers of people no longer living emanating from it.  Xanthe has to have it and discover why it is calling to her. While cleaning out the shop and getting ready for the Grand Opening many mysteries surface including a desperate and threatening ghost. An odd shaped building in their yard adds to the mystery when the chatelaine vibrates anywhere near it. Xanthe is soon drawn into a 17th century miscarriage of justice and the hardships in the life of a lady's maid. 

The premise of this story is an interesting one and I love time travel books. This is book 1 of 3 and I hope it is staging the scene for the next two books. It seems repetitive and wordy at times and I wanted to tell Xanthe to get on with it. Given Xanthe's natural curiosity, the inclusion of a threatening ghost is a bit heavy handed. The characters are well-developed and likable, I will read the other two books in the series because I am intrigued as to where the author will go next. Overall, I enjoyed the book and if you like historical fiction and time travel, you will too.

 

I received this book to read for my August book in the Bee Keepers - Book Hive Book Club FB Group.

Paula Brackston lives in a wild, mountainous part of Wales. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, and is a Visiting Lecturer for the University of Wales, Newport. Before becoming a writer, Paula tried her hand at various career paths, with mixed success. These included working as a groom on a racing yard, as a travel agent, a secretary, an English teacher, and a goat herd. Everyone involved (particularly the goats) is very relieved that she has now found a job she is actually able to do properly.

When not hunched over her keyboard in her tiny office under the stairs, Paula is dragged outside by her children to play Swedish tennis on the vertiginous slopes which surround them. She also enjoys being walked by the dog, hacking through weeds in the vegetable patch, or sitting by the pond with a glass of wine. Most of the inspiration for her writing comes from stomping about on the mountains being serenaded by skylarks and buzzards.

In 2007 Paula was short listed in the Creme de la Crime search for new writers. In 2010 her book 'Nutters' (writing as PJ Davy) was short listed for the Mind Book Award, and she was selected by the BBC under their New Welsh Writers scheme.

 For more information, visit her website http://www.paulabrackston.com/

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