Close Knit

Jenny Colgan

IT'S a place where wild sea grass waves, the beach is long and white, the rivers run with clear water, and seals ‘pepper’ the coastline... but dreamer Gertie Mooney has her sights set on a life away from the beautiful but remote Scottish island where she grew up.

If you loved last year’s dazzling escapist romance, The Summer Skies, which introduced readers to feisty pilot Morag MacIntyre and the stunning island of Carso, then cuddle up for Close Knit, Jenny Colgan’s warm and fun-filled new Highland ‘fling’ which comes threaded through with love and is guaranteed to have you in stitches.

This gorgeous, feel-good rom-com about taking chances, making changes and meeting that special someone is set against the same, alluring island backdrop and zones in on life-enhancing themes like community, healing, and just what you can achieve when you dare to leave your comfort zone.

Shy Gertie Mooney has always had her head in the clouds, wondering what her life might be like if she could only pluck up the courage to leave the windswept Scottish island of Carso where she was born. It’s the only place she knows, and unfortunately, you can’t do anything there without everyone knowing.

The glue that holds together this close-knit community of whitewashed cottages is the Knitting Circle, a group of strong, capable and unashamedly nosy women who work hard, knit and support each other through thick and thin. 

And at the centre of this sisterhood of knitters is Gertie’s mum Jean and her grandmother Elspeth, with the three generations of women living together, surrounded by wool, in one small cottage. But in a place of long dark winters and geographic isolation, the knitting circle is also a precious source of gossip...and Gertie knows only too well that there’s no getting a secret past them.

When the chance comes to enjoy her first taste of real freedom – a new job working with old school friend Morag MacIntyre on the small local airline owned by millionaire playboy Callum Frost, new friends and even a possible new romance – a world of possibilities opens up before Gertie. Is this finally the way to make her dreams come true or will she need to go further afield to find the adventure she craves?

It’s no surprise that Colgan (pictured above), who lives in Scotland, has won various awards for her writing, including the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award and the RNA Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year Award, and this gloriously uplifting story – set amidst the unspoilt splendours of the Highlands – has everything that a true romantic could want.  With the promise of love, laughter, drama and breathtaking scenery, an enchanting lead player with hidden talents, and a bunch of charismatic knitters who deliver more than a few ‘purlers,’ this is a delightful return trip to Carso and the perfect yarn spun specially for summer reading!
(Hodder & Stoughton, hardback, £16.99)