Restless Souls: Clever new 21st century whodunit

Restless Souls, available from Book Corner, is a clever new 21st century whodunit centres on murder as conceptual art in Ron Brown’s new novel. Restless Souls introduces R.I. Penny, an academic and art historian who is a frustrated detective. Conversely Richard Hart is a detective and frustrated academic. Clashing in this conceptual art murder, can Penny out sleuth Hart? This is a whodunnit that pulls on the author’s artistic background and academic research at the University of Sussex. Restless Souls is an intriguing read that keeps you guessing till its very last page. Interlinking art theory, literary and artistic allusions and concepts into the plot, the author also pays lip service to the hard-boiled inflection and cliché of crime detective fiction. This contemporary and character-driven novel is a must-read for those looking for a less formulaic murder mystery. And, having been introduced to its two protagonists, many will eagerly await further sleuthing adventures by Penny and Hart.

“Theory, whether wanted, asked for or needed, was what Penny did best. He had a theory for all things.” Restless Souls plots the pathway of jaded art history lecturer R. I. Penny. Upon reading about the death of actress Kate Considine, found dressed as Ophelia from Millais’s painting, Penny feels complicit. Indeed, for Penny, trouble is never far away.

The book launch took place at Book Corner in Saltburn.

Published by Cranthorpe Millner Publishers, Restless Souls

(ISBN: 978-1-80378-055-9) was published on in January 2023 and is available in paperback and Kindle format.

Water

The Bible presents to its readers a rich collection of metaphors that help us to understand God and ourselves. You will find God described as a ‘shepherd’, a ‘king’, a ‘rock’, a ‘stronghold’, as ‘light’ or as ‘bread’. Our English word ‘metaphor’ is derived from two Greek words: meta meaning ‘between’, and phero meaning ‘carry’. So, a metaphor is something that ‘carries between’ or ‘carries across’. The Latin equivalent is similar –‘transfer’.

Therefore, biblical metaphors are how the transcendent God ‘carries across’ or ‘transfers’ a divine truth into human comprehension and understanding. Such metaphors do two important things. Firstly, they speak about who God is and what he is like, and, secondly, they speak about our human needs and our response to God.

So, let’s briefly explore how ‘WATER’ is used as a biblical metaphor. What does water reveal to us about God and ourselves? As a starting point let’s look at the following passage from the Old Testament.

Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’ (Jeremiah 17.5-8)

Over the past year in the UK you will have seen pictures of parched land, failing crops, and empty reservoirs as the rain failed to fall at the right times and in the right quantities. Without water plants stop growing, and in areas of extreme drought they die altogether. Therefore, we can say that water is LIFE GIVING and LIFE SUSTAINING.

In the passage above we can see that water is used to reveal that God is LIFE GIVING and LIFE SUSTAINING. Considering this truth, Jeremiah writes of two kinds of people:

The first is like a bush in a desert land devoid of water

The second is like a tree planted by a stream of water

The first person does not trust in God, but rather trusts in himself and other people. This person is not drawing strength or sustenance from the source of life. On the other hand, the second person ‘trusts in the Lord’ and receives life because they are ‘like a tree planted by the water.’ But notice that this person is not spared ‘heat’ and ‘drought’: they will experience the heats of stress and sorrow, the fire of testing and tribulation, and the droughts of darkness and doubt. Yet, they will continue to bear fruit because they are planted near a source of water, because they trust in God, the LIFE GIVER and LIFE SUSTAINER.

A key question the metaphor of water asks you is this: Am I planted by the life-giving source of water?

In the Bible the metaphor of water reaches its fulfilment in Jesus Christ. In the fourth chapter of John’s Gospel a Samaritan woman encounters Jesus. Their exchange reveals the needs of this woman, that she spiritually ‘dwells in the parched places of the desert’. Jesus offers to give her the gift of the water of life, that she may be ‘like a tree planted by the water’. The woman accepts Jesus’ gift. The same gift He offers to you and all people.

Every blessing, Rev Adam Reed

Emmanuel Church

Sunday Services

9.00am communion 10.45am worship

Tuesday Service 9.30am said communion

Morning Prayer

Monday to Friday 9.00am on ZOOM

Night Prayer

Monday 8.00pm

Contact Details

T: 01287 622251

E: emmanuelsaltburn@hotmail.co.uk

W: www.emmanuelsaltburn.co.uk

01287 622133

Email: enquiries@maidensbros.co.uk

Walking Netball

Fancy trying Walking Netball? It’s a gentler, easier game for ladies of any age.

Join us at Huntcliff School every Tuesday between 5 and 6pm. Wear comfortable clothing and bring a drink. At only £4 a session you’ll have the best hour of the week. Enquiries at saltburnwi@gmail.com

Legal Services Available In Your Own Home At Very Competitive Rates

I have recently retired after providing legal services at a local solicitors for almost forty years and am now able to provide legal assistance in respect of wills, powers of attorney and help to deal with matters following a bereavement including the obtaining of a Grant of Probate. Please call me on 07402 777393 and I will be happy to visit you in your own home to discuss your requirements and give a quotation.

LORNA SMITH