Guest Review: A Good Heart is Hard to Find by Trisha Ashley

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man of over forty is in possession of a major defect . . .”

Cassandra Leigh has woken as if from a bad dream: forty-four, childless and twenty-plus years into an affair with a married man. Max assures her they just need a little more patience and for his wife to die (!) but Cass is desperate for a baby and running out of time. Maybe Max is not the only man for her?

There’s her friend Jason – though he’s perhaps a little too rugged, and there’s something strange about the way his wife disappeared . . . Or there’s Dante, the mysterious stranger she meets on a dark night in his haunted manor house . . .

Cass must throw caution to the wind and claim the life she’s always wanted. Suddenly, it’s a choice between Mr Right, Mr Wrong or Mr Right Now . . .

Review: This book was originally published in 2003 under the title Singled Out. I missed it that time around, when I hadn't yet discovered Trisha Ashley, now one of my favourite author; her books never fail to entertain. This one has a different feel from the more recent ones I have read, and there's a bit of the supernatural going on, but as usual it's full to the brim with interesting characters and arresting events. 

The central character in this story is Cassandra Leigh, a 44-year-old with a troubled past and a long-term married lover, Max, who appears to be stringing her along. Cass is a writer of horror novels, and we are presented with entertaining excerpts from reviews of her books at the beginning of each chapter. To give her inspiration for plots for her books, Cass lives a rather strange existence, prowling the graveyard or sitting in the church at night and writing long into the early hours; her diet is somewhat unusual as well. She has two good friends in her village, Jason and Orla, both slightly bizarre characters. As luck would have it, her village contains a Manor House which is reputedly teaming with ghosts. The arrival of a new owner, Dante Chase, gives her the opportunity to investigate that avenue, while getting to know this initially unpleasant man at the same time. 

I took a few pages to get into this story, but once I was used to the format and the slightly strange characters I really enjoyed it. Although I have read other books by Trisha Ashley that I have preferred to this one, I would still recommend this as a fun read.

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