The Beacon Singer

Jane Lake, disillusioned with her career as a jazz singer and frustrated in love, returns home from London to a small town in the English Lake District. Reacquainting herself with her circle of women-friends: Ruth, Sarah and Margaret, it becomes apparent that their lives of rural isolation are not as tranquil as they first appear: Sarah's long-term partner, Philip, is in amorous pursuit of Margaret's adolescent daughter, Stella.

Jane intends her stay in the family home to be short. Her rehabilitation, however, becomes protracted and she discovers that those about her -including her mother- are embroiled in the small town's romantic bohemian scene. Her sense of dejection intensifying as she realises that most of the men she's interested in prefer her younger brother, David, Jane increasingly relies upon the bottle in order to maintain a rational view of things.

Long-standing friendships cannot be maintained without rivalry and resentment playing their part. As the plot thickens involving the various key-players in Jane's life, she herself teeters between personal jeopardy and a burgeoning self-knowledge that might just permit the prospect of love…

"Chapman is a very fine writer, she has wonderful talent with description, a keen eye for plot twists and pace... There's an abundance of plot here, much like watching a mini-series..." (4-star Review, Goodreads).

"I loved this book ... Many LOL moments. A very satisfying read," (Review).