Eloise Slaughter – an aging, crotchety, overweight and infirm former fashionista with a penchant for Sapphie (Sapphire gin). Lonely, betrayed, and abandoned my her former friends, Eloise lives in squalor. She fancies herself an author and wants her story told – so she hires a young man to take down her notes and aid her in her daily life.

Bradley McCreedy – is an underweight youth with a dire home life who lives with his drunken mother and bullying brother. Bradley has a large strawberry birthmark on his face which he is very self-conscious of, and which has made him the butt of many jeers.

Desperate to escape the council estate and earn a little money, he applies for the job offered by Eloise. He is quite OCD and abhors dirt, so what he finds at her home disgusts him. She doesn’t make his life easy… While Bradley longs to clean up the filth and mould, Eloise wants him to help her write her memoirs.

Swinging 60s Carnaby Street fashion (art by Trevor Mitchell)

What a unique and entertaining little novel!

The volatile, yet affectionate relationship between the two main characters will be one that will stick in my memory for some time. Though Eloise was pitiable in many respects I did not find her all that likeable, whilst Bradley was a fabulous character. I cheered Bradley on throughout the story.

Humourous and poignant in equal measure, this is a captivating little novel which charmed me with its delightful characters.

I was ever so slightly disappointed with the ending, but could see why the author chose to end it that way.

Recommended to those readers who want an entertaining, quirky, character-rich, read.This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from the author.

Publication date: July 23, 2020
Publisher: Unbound Digital
ISBN: 9781789650938 –  ASIN:‎ B088BQ62P3 – 280 pages

Note: the Kindle and Kobo digital formats of this novel are on salenow for only .99¢

Though she’s never been rich and famous, author Sue Clark, has seen celebrity from the side-lines.

She’s grilled John Humphreys, quipped with Ronnie Corbett and danced with a James Bond. She’s penned funny lines for the likes of Lenny Henry, June Whitfield, Roy Hudd and David Jason. She’s been a radio and TV scriptwriter on such shows such as Alas Smith and Jones, Weekending, The News Huddlines and The Jason Explanation. Alongside all that, she had a more conventional career as a PR, journalist, copywriter, guidebook author, secretary and, for one brief summer, a reader of books for a film producer. “Note To Boy” is her first novel.

Follow Sue Clark on Twitter: @SueClarkAuthor