The idea behind my book 'Seven Days' started when I decided to set myself the challenge of creating a gripping tale in a short timescale after the near century I covered in the previous book.

I also wanted the story to centre on one small community to add to the intensity.  I opted for a strong, young female lead who blamed themselves for the crisis and had an interesting mix of confidence and naivety.

If you want to find out more this is the link to the book. 
https://www.chriscloake.co.uk/seven-days

Being a collection of shorter stories and one novella makes the reward of stars more difficult and has to reflect the overall impression. The fact is I found most of the stories to be good, a couple less so.

Let's start with the positives. The main tale is well known but perhaps less read than it should be. The struggle between Jekyll and Hyde has parallels with most people's experiences. We all have a darker side. That this is set at a time full of such contrasts just adds to the experience.

I also loved Olalla. The mysterious girl he becomes infatuated with and the strange place she inhabits creates a thrilling tension. The ending was a little disappointing.

Markheim is gripping. To be in the mind of a killer made for an interesting journey. That ending felt much better, after the devil had intervened.

Negative for me were the stories told in the authentic Scottish dialect. All very well except I lost the will to try and understand it!