This is a stand-alone novel, although it features many of the same characters as in Crocodiles And Angels. The book shows that while we may walk along the same pavements, our experiences are different.
Maggie is loved by her father and unfairly criticised by her mother. Escapades with friends and weekly outings with her father help her to endure Edith's petty tyranies.
However, Edith thwarts her ambition to go to college and at sixteen forces her to accept a job in Woolworths.
At eighteen she marries Trevor whom she believes shares her ideals and dreams. He encourages her to take up her dream to become a teacher.
The birth of their son brings unwelcome changes to the relationship.
Excerpt
Edith, my mother, always insisted on doing my hair, even though I was eleven and perfectly capable of doing it myself. Of course she knew that I wouldn't try to tame my curly mop. I believed she thought that if she could tame my hair she could tame me. I did try to sit still as she yanked the brush through the tangles, but it was difficult for my scalp was on fire.
Soldier's Gap is a non-traditional mystery with literary elements. The high school principal is brutally murdered, but Deputy Sheriff Dave Jenkins's search for meaning and love is a much more significant theme.
"Murder isn't usually this fun
High school student Kevin Borden has a secret and his name is Louis Lannegan. He also has an overbearing mother. A tale of coming out in the shadow of parents and friends. Award winning novella.
