Amazon Mel Menzies: An Author's Look at Life Mel Menzies Category:  Mystery/Suspense Publisher: Malcolm Down Publishing ISBN-10:  1910786055 Type: Fiction Pages: 230 Copyright: Jun 28, 2015 ISBN-13: 9781910786055 Quirky counsellor, Evie Adams, is intrigued to learn that her client's husband has become hostile to his wife because he shares a secret with her new friend and charity worker, Hilary. In solving the mystery which allows Julia and Carl to fulfil their potential, she reaches her own Time to Shine. Asked by a beleaguered client if she is religious, counsellor, Evie Adams, laughs.  “With a name like mine?  Hardly!” Nevertheless, when she learns that Julia Worth’s husband has become inexplicably hostile to his wife, her new friend, Hilary, and her charity work, she’s intrigued.  And when events linking the husband and friend long ago are discovered, Evie is determined to get to the bottom of the matter. Set in the Roman city of Exeter, and written in a style similar to Jodi Picoult’s books and Susan Howatch’s Starbridge series, this gentle psychological mystery - the first of an Evie Adams series - explores the nature of hypocrisy, forgiveness and wholeness. Excerpt I speak slowly and deliberately, intent upon getting the truth of this across to her, reducing the complexity to simple layman's terms. 'This branch of psychology is called Transactional Analysis. In other words, it's a study of how humans relate to one another. An analysis of the transactions between them. Once you understand that you have the power to decide how you will interact -' 'Yes, I can see that.' Quick to learn, Julia is excited about the truths we've uncovered. 'So I can choose to respond as an Adult, and hope that Carl will do likewise?' 'Indeed. But you can choose to respond as an Adult whether or not he continues to behave in Parent or Child state. You've depicted some of his behaviour as being in Parent mode, but I wonder if his response to things like the dressmaking episode you told me about was the result of his feeling threatened? In other words, an emotional response. That of the Child.' 'Oh, Evie, I could hug you. You've been such a help to me.' I wave her praise aside. 'The past year has been a nightmare of confusion and despair,' she continues, her cheeks glowing. 'I've sometimes felt as if my marriage was like a forest. And I was lost in the middle of it with no idea how to find my way back out to civilisation.'

An Excellent Read
By WMC on 25 Nov 2014
Verified Purchase
This book is difficult to put down at times. You soon immerse yourself in the lives of both Evie, the `counsellor' and Julia the `client'. I especially found the contrast of placing Evie in the first person present tense and Julia in the third person narrative very enriching. .
The story keeps you guessing all the way through as to what the `mystery' is and how Julia will cope when her family starts to fall apart. Is there still hope that through the gentle counselling of Evie, Julia will learn to forgive and so keep the family together, but most of all discover how she can `shine' in her own right? And you only get the answers to these question right at the end!
I can highly recommend this book and am looking forward to Mel's next book in this series, set in the beautiful Cathedral city of Exeter, Devon.




Time to Shine - A beautifully written and thoughtful book based on relationships
By David Scott on 6 Dec 2014
A beautifully written and thoughtful book centred on relationships which will strike a chord with many people. My heart went out to Julia as she struggled to cope with a husband striving to reach the top in the business world and teenagers with their own agenda and emotions. A well developed storyline makes this a book hard to put down. Mel Menzies' insights into people, their feelings, dramas and worries had me nodding my head in agreement.


Hope and Purpose
By L Robinsonon 9 March 2016
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
This book is a page-turner; the storyline draws you in and the pace is maintained throughout. As various characters deal with their own dramas and painful pasts you get a great sense of the work and thoughts of a counsellor. The action takes place over several months and the main characters develop significantly over this time period. There is a lovely (and genuine) feeling of the refreshing work of counselling - coupled well with the budding of new faith and the opportunities this also releases. Ultimately, the message is of hope and purpose and has a lot to say to encourage people who may feel that they have to shrink rather than shine.