Can a family escape it’s dark past to find happiness?

Buckie, Scotland 1918

Brothers James and Innes Lowrie return home to their wives and families after the war, Innes working for a shipbuilder and James returning to sea and the family's fishing business. Sister Bethany Pate and Innes have sons and heirs to go into the family business, but James does not. Innes takes in orphaned Etta Mulholland, adding to his already large family.

In 1931, as the new generation take the helm and pursue various careers in Buckie’s fishing industry, some are content to take on the roles their parents have chosen for them, while others rail against these strictures. Adam Pate longs to join the man he knows as his uncle, James, as a fisherman, while his mother wants him to study at university and to find a life far from the danger of discovering dark family secrets.

Trouble brews when Etta Mulholland begins work as a herring gutter, guided by her cousins, but new relationships set various family members against one another, and the family’s fortunes are threatened by external forces and the sea itself.

Is there light and happiness ahead for the hardworking families of Buckie or will discord from the past weave into their futures.

Storytelling at its best, Evelyn Hood is the original bestselling Scottish saga writer 💫

Previously published as A Sparkle of Salt

PRAISE FOR EVELYN HOOD PRAISE FOR EVELYN HOOD
'Compelling from the start, heartfelt and beautifully written.' - Rosie Clarke
'An engrossing read, I loved it and am sure you will too' - Fenella J. Miller
'If you like Catherine Cookson, you’ll love Evelyn Hood’s books.’ - Lizzie Lane
‘Evelyn Hood’s characters step off the page and into your heart.’ - Sheila Riley
‘This is addictive and heartfelt storytelling, with colourful characters you'll never want to say goodbye to.’ - Jane Lark
'Wonderfully descriptive, with memorable characters and a true sense of place.' - Tracy Baines
'Faultless historical detail and emotionally complex characters makethese engrossing and intelligent Evelyn Hood's sagas deeply satisfying' - Maisie Thomas
‘Evocative, beautifully rich, brilliantly detailed and meticulously researched - this story transported me and kept me up way past my bedtime - a triumph of a story. I very highly recommend Evelyn Hood’ – Renita D’Silva

'Scotland's Catherine Cookson' - Scots Magazine

‘Hood is immaculate in her historical detail’ - Scottish Herald

'Quite simply, I couldn't put it down. A rich and rewarding read' - Emma Blair

'Evelyn Hood has been called Scotland's Catherine Cookson. Unfair. She has her own distinctive voice' - Scots Magazine

‘Touching, romantic and unforgettable’ - Reader Review

‘Love all her books’ - Reader Review

‘Evelyn Hood produces the best of stories’ - Reader Review

‘I cannot put her books down’ - Reader Review

‘Love everything Evelyn Hood writes’ - Reader Review

‘Evelyn Hood is a fantastic writer, bringing the past to life and drawing you right into the story’ - Reader Review