She arrived in the village on the spring tide and hoped to be at the heart of it, knowing its secrets and weathering its storms.
It was to be a new beginning...
It's springtime in the Cornish village of Pendruggan and as the community comes together to say a fond farewell to parish vicar, Simon, and his wife, Penny, a newcomer causes quite a stir...
Reverand Angela Whitehorn came to Cornwall to make a difference. With her husband, Robert, by her side, she sets about making changes - but it seems not everyone is happy for her to shake things up in the small parish, and soon Angela starts to receive anonymous poison pen letters.
Angela has always been one to fight back, and she has already brought a fresh wind into the village, supporting her female parishioners through good times and bad. But as the letters get increasingly more personal, Angela learns that the secrets are closer to home.
With faith and friends by your side, even the most unlikely of new beginnings is possible.
I am a big Fern Britton fan and I love the annual visit to Cornwall to relax and unwind as the local villagers carry on with their daily lives in beautiful surroundings.
The Newcomer, is Reverand Angela Whitehorn, who takes over the Pendruggan parish while the existing vicar takes his family on a year adventure to help in Brazil. As soon as she arrives she is under scrutiny from the villagers who are unsure about the new vicar but she, and her family, soon settle into the vicarage. Angela's husband is taking a year out from being a journalist to look after their daughter and to run the home while Angela lives her dream of having her own parish.
There are some fantastic characters within the book - there are all the regulars you expect to see - the owner of the local shop who knows everyone's business, the local busy body who runs the WI and thinks she should be involved in everything and organising it. I also really liked the mix of characters. I think my favourite has to be Angela's aunt, Aunt Mamie, who creates her own mischief.
Angela comes into the village and breathes new life into it. She involves the whole village in her plans, the women's group that she creates, is all inclusive and becomes a place where the women who have no one else to talk to or no safe space to discuss matters, are able to meet and talk. It is in this group that many issues are discussed and Fern has done this in a sensitive but very real way tackling the subjects of domestic violence and breast cancer. There is also a great feeling of community spirit in the book as the villagers join together to re-create the village pond.
My only negative with this book is that I would of liked to have heard more about the previous vicar and his family's adventure in Brazil. He is mentioned occasionally in the story but I think that this story could be developed further. However, this is probably the noseyness in me, wanting to know what they were up to.
I really enjoyed The Newcomer, as ever Fern has written a fantastic book with lovable characters, in beautiful surroundings and I can't wait for her next book to return to Cornwall (hopefully) and loose myself in the beautiful surroundings.
Thank you to Harper Collins for inviting me to take part in this blog tour and for a copy of the book in return for an honest review.
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