It’s Just The Beating Of My Heart by Richard Aronowitz

Book Club book of the month synopsis

Waking each morning alone, John Stack finds solace in long, alcohol-fuelled walks through the unchanging landscape of a Gloucestershire valley. It is now two years since his wife Linda left him, taking their daughter Bryony with her, and John is a deeply unhappy man. He is also an alcoholic and when Bryony visits him, she tries to persuade him not to drink

John is an art dealer in London and the story alternates between the city and his home in the countryside. John's profile as an art dealer is waning and, with his small roster of artists no longer successful, he is forced to make important decisions about his future.
Meanwhile, John gradually gets to know his seductive neighbour, Nicola, and begins a relationship with her, although never allowing Nicola to meet Bryony. Linda, his estranged wife, still exerts a powerful hold over him.

As blank telephone calls begin to trouble him late at night and his relationship with Nicola runs into trouble, John’s drinking worsens and he begins to suspect Nicola of foul play towards her late husband. Told in sparkling language, this riveting tells a moving story of loss and heartbreak as Aronowitz leads us to a strikingly dramatic climax.

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About the Author

Richard Aronowitz was born in 1970 and grew up in rural Gloucestershire. He studied at the universities of Durham, Heidelberg and London and now works at Sotheby's. His debut novel, Five Amber Beads, was published by Flambard in 2006 and his poems have appeared in The Guardian and The Independent, and are anthologised in Anvil New Poets 3. He is married and lives in Cambridge.

Find out more at www.flambardpress.co.uk and head to www.inpressbooks.co.uk to buy the book.