Jane Cable writes with a great sense of place and her latest novel, ‘Endless Skies', is set in North Lincolnshire, a place of wide horizons, mists and endless views. Her books always have an element of the supernatural and ‘Endless Skies’ doesn’t disappoint, from shadowy figures in a field to the lingering scent of lily-of-the-valley.
Rachel Ward, an archaeology lecturer, leaves her old job after a disastrous workplace affair and moves to Lincoln University. Living in a soulless box of a flat, she makes friends with Jem who lives on a barge moored on the nearby canal. Jem is a solid steady character and becomes a mentor, almost father-like figure for Rachel who has made bad choices in the past and seems set to repeat the pattern. Jem’s new lodger, student Ben, tempts Rachel’s newly sworn promise to foreswear men. Meanwhile she takes on a freelance contract for property developer Jonathan Daubney. As she researches her report on a prospective development site at an old wartime airbase, Rachel and Jonathan fall into an instant ‘hate’ relationship.
The past is ever-present in this story which explores how what has gone before is never absent from our everyday lives, whether by actions in our lifetime or events that happened long ago. Markers are there to be seen, most clearly evident in Rachel’s fieldwalking on the old airfield where pieces of old metal are scattered. As they may belong to a wartime bomber that crashed and exploded in this place, Rachel must consult a ballistics expert and dig test pits. And so the past delays the present, as Jonathan is unable to proceed with his property plans until Rachel’s report is finished. Cable handles well the personal and work conflicts between Rachel and Jonathan. Both are emotionally damaged in ways which are gradually revealed.
My favourite character was Esther, an elderly resident at the care home run by Jonathan’s mother. As a teenager in the war, Esther worked at the laundry on the airbase and she is key to our understanding of the book. As Rachel teases out Esther’s memories, the interlinked past and the present starts to make sense.
This is a contemporary romance and is firmly rooted in the present day but I would love to know more about the wartime story of Freddie, Teo and Esther. It was so uplifting to read about a firmly-rooted friendship between two women, Rachel and Esther – one young, the other elderly – and see how they enrich each other’s lives.
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Trying to escape her past, Rachel Ward, an archaeology lecturer, has moved to Lincoln University after an illicit love affair with a married man. She meets Jon Daubney, a property developer, who hires her to do some freelance work on an old airbase. She’s also introduced to Esther, a resident at a local care home (where Jon’s mother works), who used to work in the laundry room at the airbase. With the help of Jon and Esther, Rachel digs and delves into the local history with some surprising results.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s well written and very absorbing. There’s a hint of the supernatural which gives the story an air of mystery and there are, I would say, two love stories at its heart. Rachel and Jon aren’t immediately likeable but they definitely grew on me as the tale progressed. As I avidly turned the final pages I really wanted a happy ending for them both. Esther is a great peripheral character, I really liked her. She was like a wise old owl. 🦉 I loved the setting, it was described beautifully and I could picture it easily in my mind.

I loved Endless Skies, it was a pleasure to read. It’s up there with Another You by the same author, which I read last year. I look forward to Jane Cable’s next book. ( )