I have just discovered this review of "Sacrifice" on the Welsh Books Council site. Well, somebody seems to have enjoyed it, and maybe I'd better keep going......
Brian John could not let Martha die; his readership was in denial. Hence Sacrifice, his only book not to incorporate ‘Angel Mountain’ in its title, though it is very much part of the saga which started with On Angel Mountain.
In this latest tale we join our heroine Martha Morgan, mistress of Plas Ingli, a small estate high on the slopes of Mount Carningli in north Pembrokeshire, in early 1808 and end with the birth of her son, Morfran, in the spring of 1810. At the start, the widowed Martha is of an exceptionally happy disposition as she and her five young children arrive at the fair in Portfield. Her mood is lightened still further with the meeting of a young Irishman by the name of Dominic Cunningham. What follows sets tongues wagging.
Not all remains well for Martha for long. Her 'dear friend' Joseph Harries is trampled by a herd of bullocks. This incident is quickly followed by a more worrying occurrence, though no one is hurt. George Lewis, a local lawyer and friend of Martha's, has his house burnt down, and arson is suspected.
Then there is a most disquieting and sinister happening. Will Owen, Martha's shepherd, is found in an exceptionally bad way with three stripes carved on his chest and a note written in his own blood: 'The RHIWALLWN FROM GRUNDDNEI.' The mystery is — who and why? Martha herself is targeted. As the novel unravels, we learn of four suspects who call themselves surveyors, macabre figures with whom Martha comes face to face, and her worst fears are realised.
Brian John is the master of suspense, though it is not all blood and gall. His descriptive prowess is eloquent. We are drawn to Carningli, the mountain where the Angels and the Ravens reside — a mystical place where Martha communes with nature, and the sheer majesty of the Pembrokeshire countryside. John's characters as usual are full of colour and verve; they leap off the page. One can understand why the Angel Mountain sagas have become something of a cult. Pick up any of the series and I guarantee you will want to read them all.
Well, Brian John, how about another?
Norma Penfold
A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.
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