Living in the Past by Jane Lovering

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Grace is grieving, two years after her husband died. Her friend Tabitha persuades her to volunteer at an archaeological dig in North Yorkshire. When going for a walk in the area, she finds herself in a bronze age settlement. The very settlement that grumpy Scot and dig director Duncan McDonald is looking for with this dig. But Duncan has his own ghosts from the past – years ago, his girlfriend disappeared in this area and the police suspect him of having something to do with it.

The Bronze age storyline is about Tor and Hen. Tor is the leader of the small settlement, a man who protects the women and children in his care. Lady Hen is the medicine woman, who protects the same people, but in a different way. When Grace wanders into their time frame, things start to go wrong.

This book is ostensibly about a time slip (and mud, there’s a lot about mud), but it’s also about grief and letting go of the things that nag at you over the years. It’s about the importance of knowing and understanding what happened (Closure, if you like).

Grace is brilliantly prickly. I love how sarcastic she is. Duncan is grumpy and muddy and out of touch with social niceties. He’s quite sweet. You wouldn’t think a book about two prickly people sliding around on a muddy hillside would be this absorbing and entertaining, but it is.

I really enjoyed this book. I even liked the mud.

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Buy link Amazon.co.uk Living in the Past (Choc Lit)

Buy link Amazon.com Living in the Past (Choc Lit)