A Rooftop View is the page-turning story of an artist, Matthew Sutton, whose experiences in the Second World War have haunted his mind and blunted his creative talent. Caught at an emotional crossroads, Matt accepts an offer to teach at a college of art. It is there that three students’ tangled lives weave a thread of circumstance and emotion into Matt’s own, which results in romance, tragedy and regret.

Set largely in Cornwall, a county with which author Jane Hatton has had a love affair since she was nine years old, this is a book whose chapters are much like the sea itself, sometimes calm, sometimes angry, but always with a wave of emotion rising to the surface.

The main character of Matt is well written and his relationship with Anona is filled with passion. Also, the characters of Jerry Nankervis, Helen, Giff, the dreadful Peachey and the dreaded Dot, are colourfully presented, their actions framing each other’s destinies and sealing their individual fates. A Rooftop View is an absorbing read by an author who paints a picture of an individual artist’s world, where the brush strokes are not always so soft.

Ben Gavan  

Jane Hatton’s latest book is like a rich, dark fruit cake, currants and sultanas at every bite and the occasional cherry that brings you up with a jolt, then the sheer wickedness of the marzipan and icing. It is character-driven, the plot could not happen without the strengths and weaknesses and sheer quirks of the main protagonists, situations that seem settled and set in stone are completely changed by Murdochian ‘contingencies’. We are constantly reminded that however carefully we plan things, life’s banana skins will trip us up! It is how we deal with the contingencies that make the story. We are led inexorably to understand that to be alive must be enough.

If a book is about people, place and plot, then we have all three in A Rooftop View. I found it a riveting read and look forward to the next in the series.

Susan Sallis 

Jane Hatton's sequel to A ROOFTOP VIEW stands alone as a perfectly formed good read as well as being the second book in the Nankervis family saga.

Contemporary yet timeless, the narrative is propelled swiftly and effortlessly onward by the seamless construction of well observed, multidimensional characters who act like ball bearings on the story line. I had a sense of the plot continuing to unfold regardless of whether I was reading it or not - like television for the mind - and I was loathe to miss a thing.

A Marriage of Inconvenience is an intricate web, which weaves threads of hope, love, despair, caution and impulse around its characters with such realism that empathy with their emotions and reactions is inevitable. A story which is bound to evoke a sense of recollection at some point, whether in its setting or its plot, we've all been there or somewhere like it.

West Briton

Jane Hatton has proved herself to be a magician, conjuring up real people who seem to emerge three dimensionally from the pages of her books. Her latest novel is no exception.

More credible than reality TV, the third in the Nankervis family chronicle has allowed (our) relationship with this fictitious family to blossom, furnishing (us) with an understanding of their ways rivalling that of (our) own kith and kin. They are not a kindly lot, but this is a book about connections and it is these fragile threads of continuity, transcending time and life itself, which prove to be the redeeming factor that draws fragmented relationships together like the closing of a wound.

Writing about the county in which she lives and so obviously loves, Jane Hatton does not over romanticise her locations. They are, after all, only the settings for the real gems, her characters, but anyone with experience of the county will easily recognise the liberal sprinkling of Cornwall, as it melts into the plot like chocolate on a cappuccino!

Cornish World

The Nankervis sequence has become a substantial body of work, and as all such series should, can be read separately and then enjoyed all over again, with the extra pleasure of piecing characters and events together. The setting is mainly in Cornwall and is beautifully done. The writer has a feel for the place that comes across as a kind or osmosis, and we can soak in up and suspend disbelief totally. In Cornwall, whether it is a gloriously hot day or a landscape full of mud, anything can happen. The author blends reality with myth with expertise, yet never confuses madness with either: Jane Hatton makes Cornwall into a place that can change the course of lives. She never glosses over tragedy, but she offers the possibility of some kind of redemption. Finally, she has us hooked, and we want to know more about Susan, and Oliver and Chel, and Debbie and Mawgan et al. And ... there is more!

Susan Sallis

What a delight in store for readers new to the Nankervis family saga, and what a totally satisfying read for those devotees who eagerly await each fresh book.

Looking for Henry as a stand alone read will introduce you to characters whose personalities jump off the page. They intrigue sometimes with their very ordinariness, or fascinate with their compelling lives, and they always captivate as an extended family of which the reader will want to know more.

This book is Susan’s story and with settings in Dorset, Devon and the author’s beloved Cornwall presents places and characters which have perfect fit; the story sparkles and ripples like the surface of the Helford River, the main location. Susan’s search for Henry takes the reader on an emotional journey with satisfying elements and touches of humour and pathos as her life impacts on those around her. The author’s strength is the combining of believable characters, fascinating storyline, and truly brilliant dialogue. In fact, story-telling at its best.

Lesley Costello

A Different View, the last in the Nankervis family chronicle is as much a delight as each of the preceding books. Here is a final look at the immediate family and its extensions, new and existing, which provides explanations, insights and resolutions in abundance. Though the end (at least for the present: JH) it is temptingly easy to believe they are all still living, growing and loving, and there to be asked after like dear friends. With the author’s skills with plot, dialogue and story-telling apparent on every page, this is a quality book on its own - as the finale it is worthy of the description "grand finale" with superlative encores. If you read nothing else this year, then read this - or any one of the earlier books and allow yourself to become absorbed and fascinated, and join their many followers.

Lesley Costello