The Yellow-Tail Moth
A gripping mystery of hidden secrets, friendship and the power of nature to heal
When Lily’s husband is arrested, she flees her pristine London home to escape the reporters that are hounding her. She rents a rundown cottage in a small village, where she is deeply unhappy. She hates the countryside, the dirt, the smells and the creepy woodland next to the cottage.
Desperately lonely, Lily befriends her neighbour Kathy, a naturalist and a recluse who the villagers think is unhinged. There is a surprising connection between the two women and Kathy shares her love of nature with Lily.
Then a young teenager goes missing from the village and all fingers point at Kathy.
Lily defends Kathy against the villagers but when an accusation is made about a crime Kathy has committed in the past, Lily is determined to find the truth.
Editorial Reviews
"I was gripped from the outset. Unlikely friendships, the healing power of nature, the danger of judgementalism, the goodness of people, all wrapped up in in a fascinating story."
— Fiona Curnow, Author of Before the Swallows Come Back
Inspiration for The Yellow-Tail Moth
My initial inspiration for Kathy’s story came from the lockdowns during the Covid pandemic. My world shrank to that of my house and garden and I began to imagine what it would be like to be a recluse. I have always been a keen gardener, but I became much more observant and interested in the insects that were inhabiting my shrunken world. I read in a newspaper about Jennifer Owen, a zoologist who monitored all the wildlife in her English garden over thirty years. She recorded 2,673 species which included anything from plants to animals. She monitored huge numbers of insects including butterflies and moths. Her research gave me the idea that Kathy could do something similar in her garden, a project to help her deal with her past.
Lily’s story was also inspired by a story in the media about a woman whose husband was arrested. She was hounded by the press, even though she herself had done nothing wrong. I began to imagine how uncomfortable that must be and how I might react to it. In the novel she runs away to a rental cottage next door to Kathy, surrounded by countryside which she hates. By putting her into a place where she was uncomfortable, it became interesting to see how she coped and how her character developed as a result of the situation she was in. I found a yellow-tail moth in my house just after I had started writing the story and immediately included it in the novel. It seemed a perfect way to bring the two characters together.