Kate Garland

The Putney Flat Kate Garland

"The Putney Flat is a page-turning novella which blends literature with the edge and atmosphere of a thriller." Thomas Waugh.

Kylie is being stalked. Stalking may be something that comes up often on the news but one never imagines it could happen to one's own family. Having lost her mother at a very young age and because her father is abroad most of the time Kylie confides in her Aunt Jo.

Jo's immediate reaction is to tell her niece to contact the police. She herself never got over the disappearance of her sister years ago and her niece's problem brings home to her the worry and sorrow of that time. Jo has never given up on the feeling that her sister is alive and they will be reunited one day.

Susan, a well-known artist and Jo's older sister, meets the man of her dreams, and yet... life with him is fraught with danger. The threat of harm to her sister hangs over her and she is forced to abandon her family and leave the country. Will she ever see them again?

And then there's Duncan, Kylie's father: difficult as a child, aggressive and prone to fighting with his sisters at home and the other boys at school. He leaves both school and home at a young age. Eventually he does find happiness - but happiness doesn't last forever.

Although this family seems beset by problems and heartache, time is a great healer and at least some of the family's problems are finally resolved.

But, within one's life and family, there is always drama.