False Tongues
Marylebone House, 2015 (UK)
ISBN: 1910674052
Poisoned Pen Press, 2015 (US)
ISBN: 1464204888
Callie Anson should have learned her lesson by now: revisiting the past was seldom a good idea. But she succumbs to peer pressure and attends a reunion at her theological college in Cambridge, where she is forced to confront painful memories – and the presence of her clueless ex, Adam.
Margaret Phillips, the Principal of the college, has a chance for happiness but before she can grasp it she has to deal with her own ghosts – as well as corrosive, intrusive gossip. Both women learn something about themselves, and about forgiveness, from the wise John Kingsley.
Meanwhile, in London, police officers Neville Stewart and Mark Lombardi are involved with the latest stabbing of a teenager. Was gifted, popular Sebastian Frost all he seemed to be, or was there something in his life that led inevitably to his death? They're plunged into the queasy world of cyber-bullying, where nothing may be as it seems.
While they're apart, Callie and Mark's relationship is on hold, and his Italian family continues to be an issue. Will Marco realise, before it's too late, that while his family will always be important to him, he is entitled to something for himself?
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Reviews:
"Callie has never been more appealing than in this sensitive exploration of love and loss.” (Kirkus starred review)
“The toll of cyberbullying and the pressure to conform to social expectations is intelligently and poignantly rendered.” (Publishers Weekly)
"Kate Charles does a fine job of juggling the various storylines within this novel. It was a nice change of pace to not have all of these threads somehow conveniently blend into one major storyline as so happen in crime fiction. False Tongues is simply a story of several people’s lives over the course of a week. All of them will be changed by the end – and it is just possible that the reader will see the world slightly differently before it is all over as well.” (Bolo Books)
