I haven't had time yet to finish up my review of Edward Hogan's Blackmoor, which I read as part of the Desmond Elliott prize shortlist (which I haven't finished entirely. No suprise there). But I'm very, very, very pleased to see the announcement that it has won the Award and the £10,000 that goes with it.
Hurray! I can't stress enough what a worthy and entirely beautiful debut it is. I will be writing about it very soon, but in the meantime you can see short reviews here and here. And of course, you could buy it and read it for yourself. Here is a blurb to be a-tempting you:
“You said once that Blackmoor killed Mum.”
“I suppose you don’t think that a place can kill a person,” says George.
Vincent shrugs. “I just want to know how.”
“Slowly, that’s how.”Bird-watching teenager Vincent Cartwright lives out a bullied, awkward existence not far from the site of Blackmoor, a mysterious, vanished Derbyshire village. His mother Beth, half-blind and unknowable, and her life and death in that same village has always been a dark family secret, but as Vincent comes of age he begins to search for the truth.
~~Victoria~~