Michael Bagley

A Good Death Michael Bagley

The year is 2028 and it's a stunning spring day on the Lincolnshire Wolds, when Bess finally persuades her Uncle John to tell her the story of the family scandal that's been merely whispered about at weddings and funerals. We're then transported back fiften years where, as a young man, John Stafford is forced to chase his father across the USA and Europe.

We discover, over three time-zones, that A Good Death is essentially about three characters: an embittered, former military father, a quiet, troubled son, suddenly thrust into the midst of a family crisis, and a bright, questioning young woman, who acts as conscience to both uncle and grandfather. The relationship between all three is constantly tested, as John discovers aspects of his father's past, and is forced to remember disturbing elements of his own history, when he was just a small child.

The novel is about love and hate and betrayal and in parts it's a dark story. But all three characters are on their own personal journeys - which each feels compelled to make - and they don't end until back in 2028, where fate, at long last, waits.