Bohemian Summer

The peace of Nettlebridge, a quiet English village in the fifties, is shattered by a chain of events. Ten year old Charlie Blackmore, on the off chance, meets and makes friends with Marco, an egotistic gypsy boy, when trying to save a dog. The sole witnesses of a violent robbery at a Colonel's Country House, the boys not wanting to be implicated leave the scene. With the mysterious disappearance of George McDonald, the village storekeeper and Mildred Marsh, a known gossip, a body found on a railway line triggers off a lengthy police investigation. Suspicion falling on a nearby gypsy encampment, as yet unresolved, an attempted suicide in a country lane giving rise to further speculation. Iris, Charlie's mother, with an unexpected find, gaining an insight into the storekeeper's past, puts two and two together. For Charlie, life will never be the same again.

Janice Hutchings, spent her childhood in Oreston, a small waterside village, on the shores of the river Plym. Educated at Oreston Primary School, Plymstock Secondary Modern School, she then attended St. Dunstan Abbey for girls. In 1957, having qualified as a shorthand typist, she was employed by a number of companies until 1973, after which she worked in a Charity shop from 1974 to 1981. Inspired by her mother, a freelance journalist, Janice embarked on a writing career. She has written a number of short stories, some of which have been published in 'Countryside Tales'. She is the secretary of a Local Writers' Group. Her writing venture, 'Bohemian Summer' is her first book. Other than writing, she loves rambling, walking her dog and riding her motorcycle.