The Saved

The Saved by Liz Webb

‘She thought his death was the worst thing that could happen – then he came back to life.’

Eyes staring. No breath. No heartbeat. The worst thing imaginable has happened. The love of Nancy’s life is dead. She’s found the body of her boyfriend Calder floating in the icy sea off the coast of Scotland. He’s just cold, dead weight. But the paramedic transporting the body, whispers to her ‘you’re not dead, till you’re warm and dead’. Calder has had a heart attack in freezing temperatures, so his brain and organs require much less oxygen than usual to remain viable. A (real) cutting-edge treatment brings him back to life six hours later. Calder’s recovery is hailed as a miracle and is splashed across the papers: FRANKENSTEIN LIVES!

Nancy is ecstatic. But then she discovers that there is something worse than the death of the love of her life. Him coming back but not as him. When she looks into his eyes now, she doesn’t recognise him. He looks the same, but he’s cold and distant. He’s not her Calder anymore. When he’s fit enough to return home, Nancy is terrified that she’s returning home with a total stranger. And when they walk back into their cottage, their cat, who previously adored Calder, hisses and rears back in horror. She knows he’s not Calder.

Nancy is a script editor working on a modern reworking of Frankenstein. She and Calder were seeking a fresh start when they moved to the (fictional) remote Scottish island of Langer in the middle of winter. It’s a slate island off the coast of Western Scotland, with a tiny population, one pub and one shop. The murder of an islander leads to the discovery of previous murders on the island. The close-knit island community has no resident police presence and is a law unto itself. The one church is decorated with slate and has a famous slate altar. The pastor preaches the necessity of seeking forgiveness. At every service, the congregation write their sins on pieces of slate in chalk and their words are ceremonially washed away, then the slates smashed. But what dark secrets are the islanders keeping? And what secrets pushed Nancy and Calder to give up their London lives to move to this remote island?

Slate is a strong substance used on roofs, but once broken it can never be put back together. Can Calder and Nancy’s seemingly unbreakable relationship stand the pressure of all these secrets? Nancy tries to work out what has caused Calder’s huge personality change. But will she be able to face the truth? Has Nancy ever really known the real Calder and what he’s really capable of? And will she survive admitting her own secrets and getting Calder and the islanders to admit theirs?

To read more about Liz and both her novels see her website: https://lizwebb.co.uk/

Online book launch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TQ7AKtM5ig