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| Croydon, England - 1964 Helen Hansford is an art therapist at Westbury Park psychiatric hospital. She is also in a love affair with one of the psychiatrists, the very attractive and popular Gil Rudden, who also happens to be married. Helen is very attuned to the patients that she works with and strives to help bring out the best in them. While her love life must be kept hidden from all at the hospital, Helen is aware that the affair could end at any moment, especially if Gil's wife finds out. To make matters more precarious, his wife is one of Helen's cousins! One spring day Gil includes Helen in a strange incident. Called by the authorities, Gil takes Helen to a decrepit old house where an elderly woman and her nephew have had an altercation. Clothing has been thrown from the second floor and draped over trees and bushes. Upon arrival they deal with the aunt, removing her to Westbury Park for care as she is obviously mentally distressed. But to their surprise they find the nephew, nearly naked and sporting a waist-length beard and long hair. He, too, goes to the hospital with his aunt. It's apparent from the start that he is mute, and very confused, not to mention that no one in the neighborhood knew that he lived there, and that he has apparently been hidden for decades. Careful to approach the new arrival, Helen finds that his name is William Tapping, and although he doesn't speak, it's apparent that he can read, and especially that he is a very talented artist. Determined to get to the crux of William's disability, Helen begins including him in her classes, encouraging his love of animals in his artwork. But why was this thirty-seven-year-old man kept in the house for so many years? Helen wants to find out, but it may take time. SHY CREATURES is an amazing story of how different lives evolve, some for the good, and some not so good. Helen's own secret to be kept from family and fellow workers imprisons her in its own way. William, while far from having led a normal life, is also far from being insane. His aunts who raised him probably meant well, but were completely wrong in their decision to keep him hidden. As lives begin to unravel, readers will learn about William's past, as well as how Helen will deal with her own problems. Don't miss SHY CREATURES, it's beautifully written with incredible characters. Jani Brooks |
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SHY CREATURES - Clare Chambers