The Feathered Book

Nutbrown’s debut novel is a cross between Wind in the Willows and Sherlock Holmes.

We follow librarians, the dormouse Ticklepenny and her boss, the aged squirrel Pecksniff, in their idyllic hollow tree library. In this library is housed the feathered book which was an alchemist’s secret recipe book. The book is cursed. If someone withdraws it from the library, they will die.

One night, predictably, the book is withdrawn from the library, thief unknown. Can Monty the Fox and his friend, Nettle, the rabbit, help the ineffectual police to capture the thief and return the book to safe keeping?

The charm of this narrative is in its anthropomorphic characters. Monty has just become a detective, as his newest hobby. Nettle, his long-term friend, not sidekick, is not convinced that he will see the case through, as he often gets bored. Their relationship, in its tempestuous affection, is a really brilliant part of the narrative.

Anyone who wants to be taken away from reality and to immerse themselves in a deceptively cosy world, will very much enjoy Nutbrown’s imagination.