Overview

The next instalment from debut author Jane Buckley's Stones Corner tetralogy has arrived! Darkness captures an era in Derry/Londonderry in the early '70s, considered the darkest years of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. It reveals the catastrophic fallout from Volume 1Turmoil's doomed Derry City Hotel meeting and its impact on the lives of so many, from the rich, vibrant James Henderson to the love-struck factory girl, Caitlin McLaughlin. The guerrilla war in Northern Ireland rages as it extends to mainland Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Charles Jones, the bigoted Belfast businessman and the revenge-seeking British Army undercover operative IOWA, continue to seek every opportunity to cause distress and misery for the Nationalist papists. Darkness takes us from the private clubs of London's West End to the dank hellhole of Armagh Women's Gaol. Hope is deemed lost and forgotten until, ultimately, the power of love, truth, and justice steps in to create a new beginning. This tale is ANOTHER brutal, hard-hitting, but scrupulously unbiased account of communities on both sides of the sectarian divide struggling to live and love against a background of chaos and carnage.

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9781914225598

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Reviews

Review for Stones Corner, Turmoil Jun 25, 2021. Goodreads 5***** Siobhan Prendergast rated it - it was amazing. Jane has a wonderful way of writing; she gently guides the reader into the story, and without realising when the transition happened, you find yourself sitting alongside her characters or walking the streets of Derry city with them. Walking to the factory with the young Catholic Caitlin and her best friend, listening to them chat, I felt I was laughing with them. I cried too when on a much-anticipated shopping trip, one of the young, innocent girls were brutally injured by a bomb blast - an everyday occurrence. The reality of life in Northern Ireland was brought home in the words of Jane Buckley as she led us through the Troubles of Derry City and the lives shattered by the conflict and war. How could we empathise with the handsome but privileged James, nephew of the factory owner - but yet, somehow, we do! We feel Caitlin's youthful anticipation of first love through her dangerous liaison with the Scottish protestant James. We somehow understand how the youth can be cajoled or angered by uprise and violence. Above all, we feel the joy and the utter heartbreak and devastation that the conflict has on all families and individuals - no one escapes unscathed. A superbly constructed thriller, written in a style that is accessible to those of us who may never really understand what it is like to live in a war zone; the backdrop for their lives, it's not extraordinary to them; it is, shockingly, their everyday lives. Stones Corner really makes this clear to the reader, despite the warzone, despite the bombings, the threat, the constant fear, these real people must live their lives. This book transports us into the very shoes of the characters and allows us for a short time to walk in their shoes and hear their thoughts and feel their emotions. A thriller with a lot of backbone and enormous depth. It keeps the reader holding his breath to see what is going to happen next. I loved it, and I am so looking forward to the sequel, Darkness. Thanks to Jane Buckley for Stones Corner. Please, everyone, read it!

Author Information

Jane Buckley was born in Derry/ Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in the late 60s and is the author of Stones Corner Volume 1, Turmoil. Like many of her generation, she had to leave to find work elsewhere. At the naive age of 17, she moved to London, where she lived and worked for over twenty-five years before moving to Nice, France. Along with her husband John (born in Cork, Ireland), they finally returned home in 2017 and lived in Donegal. They love it but had forgotten how unpredictable the weather is! Since Jane lived predominantly in London throughout the awful time that is known as The Troubles, it was apparent then - and still is today - that not all the facts of the horrific events in Ulster - perpetrated on every side by the warring factions - were presented in an accurate and unbiased way. This was especially true in mainland Britain. Over recent years, the couple recognised that many of the people they'd been fortunate enough to meet on their travels worldwide didn't understand why or how the conflict here in the North of Ireland began and why it continued for three decades. Jane found this particularly frustrating and decided to take it upon herself to inform them and others by writing a historical fiction series based on her own childhood experiences and around events from this horrific period in Ireland's history. She says writing was a frightening project at first, given she'd never written anything substantial before but, being Jane, she'd write not just one novel, but a quartet, hence Turmoil, Darkness, Hope and Light! Jane believes that we need to move on from The Troubles as a country while never forgetting how and why they occurred. In recognition of the hardship and suffering endured by so many of our friends, family, and neighbours, we should continue to embrace the healing and reconciliation process.

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