Out of Human Sight: A Historical Mystery

Product Information

A huge thanks to the publisher, Northodox Press, for sending me a free digital ARC to read and review! Likes & Dislikes: MURDER MYSTERY: Sophie Parkes has written a book following on from the murders at a Saddleworth pub. This friendly, inclusive group meets on the third Tuesday of the month, at The Vale, Mossley's beautiful arts space, 7.30-9.30pm. We welcome all kinds of writers, at all stages of their career. A typical Mossley Writers get-together includes critiquing members’ work, writing together using fun and thought-provoking writing exercises, and – of course – tea and biscuits. There is a small monthly fee to cover the hire of the space at The Vale.

A NOTORIOUS unsolved Saddleworth murder has proved to be the inspiration for the debut novel by an author. Out Of Human Sight’ was a beautifully written mystery, but was also the story of a brave young woman who refused to be cowed. I loved it. In 2016, Sophie worked with endurance athlete, Blind Dave Heeley, to get his incredible story down onto paper. From Light to Darkis published by Pitch, with a portion of the story influencing short film, Seven Days, made by Pixel Revolution Films. It is also available as an audio book, courtesy of narrator, Adrian Chiles.Parkes-Nield, S. (2021). Connected through Custom: Well Dressing in Jon McGregor’s Novel, Reservoir 13. http://doi.org/10.1080/0015587x.2020.1844953 An atmospheric historical novel which charts one young woman’s journey to adulthood. The story starts with a murder which haunts our heroine throughout the remainder of the book, but for me the main focus of the narrative were her relationships with those around her and her inability to adjust to her change in circumstances. The bloody, battered, and unrecognisable bodies of an innkeeper and his son are found in their remote village. As gore-seekers travel from across the country to witness the sight, mill-worker Millie Bradbury, her family, and her discovery have become notorious, and the focus of unwanted national attention.

Parkes-Nield, S. (2021). Connected through Custom: Well Dressing in Jon McGregor’s Novel, Reservoir 13. Folklore, 132 (2), 208-217. http://doi.org/10.1080/0015587X.2020.1844953. Book chapters As soon as they are married, Johnny drops the bombshell of his ‘gift’ to his new wife. They are to emigrate to the Canadas the following week. Millie doesn’t want to leave her family, her work, her friends and the only life she has ever known. But a husband’s decision is final and Millie soon finds herself on board a ship from Liverpool. She and her family are mill workers, like almost everyone else in Greenfield and the rest of Saddleworth, and Sophie Parkes gives us an uncompromising picture of the working and domestic lives of the labourers in that period, and of the systematic cultural oppression of women. The apparent saving grace for Millie is that she’s expected to marry the popular Johnny Barkwell, to the envy of most other young women in the area, and indeed she does. But the marriage doesn’t promise to be happy, partly because Johnny is drinking heavily and seems unable to stop, but mostly because he decides that he and Millie are going to emigrate to Canada – and since she’s his wife she has no choice in the matter, reluctant though she is. We’re given a chilling description of travel in steerage on a nineteenth century sailing ship, and then we’re given an even more dispiriting account of the shanty town in Quebec where the couple have to find a home, and work.Sophie also helped put the incredible story of endurance athlete, Blind Dave Heeley, down onto paper. From Light to Dark is available now, with a portion of the story influencing short film, Seven Days, made by Pixel Revolution Films. As she recovers from her horrific discovery, Johnny Barkwell, a man she has known all her life and long admired, asks her to marry him. Millie has no hesitation in saying yes and the wedding takes place just weeks later.

The team currently work remotely from Manchester, Yorkshire, and Cumbria, and despite weekly Zoom meetings, we’re still enjoying the experience of working for an indie publisher without the crushing realities of a long commute. The plot itself is perfectly paced keeps you engaged through out. As I already said the characters are believable and incredibly human. You cannot help but feel for Millie who seems to be sent from one situation to another but manages to deal with these in the best way she can under the societal constraints of her time. I found her the sort of heroine that the Brontes may have created and her tale echoes that of the popular Bildungsroman of their time seeing our heroine face the struggles of growing from adolescence to adulthood and navigating the world around her. An attractive if somewhat generic cover, though it’s not the easiest of stories to come up with a targeted one. Still pleasing enough on the eye and hints at historical fiction.Parkes-Nield, S. (2020). Cheese-rolling, Pace-egging, Soul-caking: Can Calendar Customs Engender Stewardship of our Natural Environment? Presented at: Earth(ly) Matters, Online