Book review - Forest Dancer

Susan Roebuck’s novel Forest Dancer (2018) is an unashamed romance and  none the worse for that.

Flora is a ballerina with back trouble who, having failed an audition, goes off to Portugal to claim the village cottage left to her by her late father. 

The book has all the ingredients to keep the reader turning the pages: interesting and varied characters, an exotic setting, mystery, corruption, humour and conflict.

While waiting for her flight from London to Lisbon, she finds herself in an overcrowded airport lounge, ‘so she sat on the floor and whiled away the time watching knees go by, trolleys bashing into each other, and braiding pieces of her hair, a habit she’d had from childhood. If she did it for long enough she ended up looking like she’d plugged herself into a light socket, and she was halfway there now' (p18). Here, she meets a handsome Portuguese man, Gil Morais, the darling of daytime TV in his country. ‘Latin Lothario, she decided.’ (p19)

We will meet Gil again, frequently, as he evolves a crackpot plot to ensnare Flora… 

Flora’s arrival at the cottage is a surprise to the people who are living there: Dina and her young daughter Raquel. Reluctant to turf them out, Flora finds accommodation at a nearby bed and breakfast place run by an English woman, Elizabeth. The only other resident is Sally, an old widow with a pet blue bird, Boris, who is partial to biting the columella of people’s noses – enough to bring water to the eyes!

Another person of interest is Marco, a strong silent type working as a Forestry Commission warden. He’s not keen on men in Armani suits, particularly if they’re investigating the viability of setting up a fracking plant in the forest.  An Armani suit: ‘First sign of a villain, in his opinion.’ (p23)  He also does odd jobs for Elizabeth and seems to have an attachment to Dina...

Apparently, there’s a saying in ballet: ‘Work to impress. Dance to express.’ (p121) And Flora does just that, taking on the task of teaching the local school children to dance in a tableau that involves protesting against the proposed fracking.

Gil’s crazy ideas about the local standing stones suggest a threat to Flora but in fact provide light amusement instead. Raquel is endearing and her plight, when revealed, is touching.

Inevitably, Flora and Marco are drawn to each other, yet misunderstandings and deceit muddy the waters for most of the book; and thus keep the reader turning the pages!

I enjoyed the humour and the affectionate descriptions that brought the characters and the village to life.

Recommended.