Apples in the Dark

‘Mam, we should… I don’t know. Be friends.’
A mother and daughter meet a stranger on a Cardiff bus. For ten-year-old Alice, it’s simple: the three of them need each other. But adults never see the obvious.
Alice needs an ally who knows how it feels to be excluded for her intelligence. Beth has neglected her artistic career in the struggle to support Alice. Scientist Rachel has epilepsy, a hidden disability, and she has grown to expect all friendships to end in failure.
Alice’s loyalty to her new friend never wavers, and mysterious, possibly angelic assistance comes in a form that makes Rachel doubt her sanity.
The author drew on his own experience of epilepsy, and the way it skewed his expectations, to tell Rachel’s story. Apples in the Dark is the first of a series of novels about the ripples spreading from that initial friendship. The continuing story introduces some vivid characters who will stay with you.