The Christmas Promise by Sue Moorcroft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had the privilege to attend a class at the Swanwick Writers’ Summer School in 2016 which Sue Moorcroft delivered. There were two topics that she covered which made an impression on me and which I bore in mind as I read this book.
That might make me slightly over-critical.
The first was “point of view.” It took skillful writing to give me a good feel for the points of view of each of the main characters rahter than just the main protagonist, Ava. I enjoyed that.
The second was on how to end chapters. Sue’s instruction was to try to end each chapter on a note that would make the reader want to read on rather than put the light out go to sleep. On this point, The Chrsitmas Promise only scored 50%. My thoughts are that this was due to enthusiastic editing rather than the author’s own intentions.
Back to the book itself.
The storyline is very good and is captivating. After a slow start, during which there is much house and party hopping to get to know the characters, the narative rolls along at a good lick. I enjoyed it and was always wondering what would happen next.
All in all, this is a fun read with a happy ending. I recommend it.
