Vets on Call by Cathy Woodman

It's all change at Otter House as a new vet moves in. Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Catherine Alliott, this is the ninth book in the hugely popular Talyton St George series. Each book in the Talyton St George series can be read as a standalone novel, but when Cathy first had the idea of writing about a vet practice, she intended it to be a trilogy about two vets - Maz and Alex. Their names are in brackets to show which books feature their story. All the other books have new characters, although Maz and Alex always crop up now and again. Talyton St George, the story so far: Trust Me, I'm a Vet (Maz and Alex), Must Be Love (Maz and Alex), The Sweetest Thing It's a Vet's Life (Maz and Alex), The Village Vet, Vets in Love, Country Loving, The Three of Us (Digital short story, companion to Follow Me Home), and, Follow Me Home.

Spring is in full bloom, the clocks have gone forward, the sun is beginning to make more of an appearance and that means one thing ........ it is time to take my annual trip to Talyton St George and visit old friends.

This is the ninth book in the fantastic series, based in the the fictional country village of Talyton St George. The series began as a series set around the  village vets but as the series has progressed, we, the readers, have been introduced to more and more characters. One of the things I love about this series is that although books may be set around specific characters e.g. The Sweetest Thing was set around Jenny who set up a cake making business, Woodman always ensures the villagers met in previous books make appearances in them too. 

Following Will, the temporary vet's disastrous time at Talyton where he managed to amputate a dog's healthy leg by mistake, a new, leather clad biker, vet arrives and it is not only the patient's heart that Ross sets a flutter. He also makes an impression on veterinary nurse Shannon too. 

This is another great book, where there is a great story-line throughout. There are plenty of the usual veterinary cases, alongside the will they, won't they story-line between Ross and Shannon. What happens next is an freak incident that will affect them both for years to come. It was great to see the story-line included in the book as it has hit the headlines in recent years but after the reporting of it, the aftermath is not discussed. Woodman has created a credible story-line which could be an uplifting hope for fellow sufferers.

Woodman is a qualified vet and I really enjoyed the 'technical' scenes and jargon within the story. I really enjoyed the scenes in the book which included diagnosis, or procedures taking place. The jargon did not make the scenes graphic or complicated but allowed the reader to feel they were there in the room. Many authors add these scenes but gloss over dialogue or procedure but Woodman added depth to these sections.

I really enjoyed this book and am already waiting for my next visit to Talyton. I look forward to seeing who will be the next receptionist at the vets - Frances is going to be a hard act to follow and I don't think she will go quietly, she will continue to pop into the surgery to keep an eye on them all.

Although this book is part of a series, each novel is a standalone read and I would recommend this book to all fans of books that you can loose yourself in village life and want to meet a whole community of villagers.

Thank you to the publishers, Arrow, for sending me the book to review.