Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for my place on the book tour and my gifted ebook.
Fruit Woman is narrated by Helen Scutt, a quirky and naïve twenty-seven-year-old. The image of the Fruit Woman has appeared to Helen at important times in her life, particularly in relation to her own sexual and spiritual awakening. But only now, while on holiday with her extended family, does she get her first warning message from the Fruit Woman. Set in the l980s, Helen returns with her extended family, after a twelve year break, to spend a fortnight at their favourite holiday destination in Devon: Myrtle Cottages. Due to join them for the second week of the holiday are: Helen’s old friend, Bella, Bella’s brother, Dominic, and Helen’s cousin, Les. But shortly after the family have arrived on holiday, Helen’s mother announces that she has also invited along someone from church for the second week of their holiday: Christine Wigg, a friend of the family, and victim of a rape several years before. In the context of the family holiday, where games of cards, scatological worries, and deep discussions abound, the story centres on Helen’s anxieties over the second week’s ‘guest list’. She’s not seen Bella for years, she’s attracted to Dominic in spite of his religious beliefs, and she thinks it a bad idea for her mother to have invited Les, who was originally accused of Christine’s rape by her in-laws. Helen’s concerns trigger off all sorts of childhood and adolescent memories, but as her anxieties mount, can she make sense at last of what happened years before?
My Review
Kate Rigby’s Fruit Woman is a novel that sucked me in slowly. It’s a coming of age tale with thriller elements, too. I didn’t expect it to keep me so engrossed.
Set in the 1980s, this is a story of a family on holiday in Devon. Told from the viewpoint of Helen. What seems like a mundane holiday that every family has ever taken is something much more for Helen. The complexities of guests arriving for the second week causes anxiety for Helen. This triggers her to reflect on the past. Through this, the reader gets to know Helen, and it turns the novel into something more.
Kate Rigby sent me straight back to my teens while reading this book. Family holidays always played out the same, and if anyone different was arriving, it caused all sorts of havoc within the usually settled routine. I felt the tension rising as the second week came closer, and the emotions that ran through Helen felt like they were pouring out of the pages as I read.
It’s a very well written story that I am still thinking about even now. The characters were very well created with a depth to them that had me believing in them, or not as the case may be. I don’t know what I expected but it’s definitely a great book!
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fruit-Woman-Kate-Rigby-ebook/dp/B013CRLF5Q
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013CRLF5Q
https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/fruit-woman
Author Bio
Kate Rigby has been writing for many decades and is widely published. She’s mainly written novels, many of them hard-hitting and/or edgy. She’s been published by traditional and small presses before going independent and embracing the digital technology. She’s also written & published short stories, flash fiction and poems and is currently writing memoirs. She was diagnosed with autism and ADHD late in life which has been life-changing. She has started a Facebook group for autistic book lovers as well as a second blog called Authistic Words. She is also an M.E. and Fibromyalgia warrior, a hyperhidrosis and migraine sufferer and has suffered lifelong anxiety. Her other interests are reading, music, photography, cats & LFC.
Social Media Links
Website: https://kjrbooks.yolasite.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/authorrigby
Blogs: https://authisticwords.blogspot.com/
http://bubbitybooks.blogspot.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/kate_jay_r
TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJTtmSAk/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheBubbity
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4768025
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 