Thursday 19 July 2012

The Palaver Tree (Berriwood Series)

The Palaver Tree (Berriwood Series) [Kindle Edition]

Wendy Unsworth


http://www.amazon.com/Palaver-Tree-Berriwood-Series-ebook/dp/B00719ODS8


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Palaver-Tree-Berriwood-Series-ebook/dp/B00719ODS8




Africa, beautiful, serene ...... and dangerous.
Lives and fortunes change in the blink of an eye.
Now that she is alone, volunteering at a school in the Central African Republic of Ducana seems like everything schoolteacher Ellie Hathaway needs. Here is the opportunity to get away from the sleepy Cornish village where recent tragedy still haunts her and to help the children's charity her friend has worked so tirelessly to promote.
But dark forces and ambitions are in play long before Ellie's arrival in the dusty town of Limba. Even as she begins to believe she can at last find true happiness, she realises that something at the school is very wrong.
Is this really the place of loving and giving she had first thought it to be, and is headmaster, Gabriel Cole, really their guardian angel?
With so many questions left unanswered Ellie struggles to decide what she must do, but then political chaos descends and suddenly Ellie finds herself more alone than she had ever imagined she could be....

Reviews


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written April 8, 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a wonderful book. Ellie, the main character, seems at first to be a bit of a pushover, but like many unassuming women, she has great inner strength that her friends and family rely upon. Finding herself alone after a terrible tragedy, she decides to teach in Africa for a year, and finds that there is much more going on than she originally believed. Ellie's wonderful character is challenged in every way possible. A beautiful story.

By P. A. Barron
This was an excellent read for so many different reasons as the author has a great eye for detail and gets this across to the reader most effectively.


The contrast between a sleepy affluent Cornish village and the stifling heat of a poverty stricken African village was really well done.

All the characters were all well drawn but the strength of the story was the way in which the many different characters,sub plots and locations were weaved together.

The story cranked up the tension and conflict, had elements of mystery and finished off with an action packed ending.

I look forward to reading the next one.

Paul A.