Cut Him Out in Little Stars

Cut Him Out in Little Stars grieves Juliet, mourning her flier fiancé with whom she fell in love in a whirlwind romance. Her father, frustrated by her grief, packs her off to Fairlight, to Samphire House, the cottage beloved by her late mother, where Frances, artist, and older sister, lives. It seems Frances has a secret that threatens society; how to tell the truth about Alex? Then again, could Alex be a way for the sisters to bond? Could Alex be the way for Juliet to regain courage lost so many years ago, to a time she can barely remember, when her mother was alive? Might her mother’s diaries, shelved in Samphire House, help her connect? Could other correspondence Juliet sneaks from Minnie Munday’s house help her investigate the tragic death of this local villager. Minnie may have been from a disreputable family, but there’s something wrong in every respect about her tragic end. Juliet’s aware of anomalies in the way Minnie’s body was lying, in her dress, in the cliff face… Minnie’s death seems to need Juliet’s detective skills. Could it be anything to do with the airbase? WWII is hotting up, with airmen overwhelming Fairlight as they train at the nearby base, and begin their assaults from the proximate airfield. Could there be foul play? Juliet’s investigations lead her to meet Bertie, the American nephew of local bookseller, Mrs Sylvester. There’s something furtive there, beyond the blue- green eyes. Or is there? Who can Juliet trust? Readers fall deeply into the world of Fairlight, into the tidal rhythms of Juliet’s day and the ghosts of the night. We watch her grow up, face truths about her neighbours, family, love…. and herself. What an outstanding book! Cut Him Out in Little Stars is quite exceptional, a tour-de-force of coming of age, a brilliantly realised historical novel of empathy, desperation and love.