Cymer y seren - Cefin Roberts

A mystery novel for adults. In a series of exciting events, Cefin Roberts takes us from a quiet Arfon village to one of Italy's romantic cities. Emrys Pritchard has been blaming himself ever since his only daughter, Mari Lisa - the apple of his eye - disappeared, and things go from bad to worse when Carys, his wife, leaves him.

Would you open the door ...?

If you received a text message in the middle of the night from an unknown telephone number telling you to open the door to your house, would you do it? That's the dilemma for Emrys Pritchard in the first chapter of Cefin Roberts's new novel, Cymer y Seren (loosely translated as Take the Star).

This mystery novel, published by Gwasg Gwynedd, follows Emrys, a father that blames himself for the disappearance of his teenage (and only) daughter, Mari Lisa, four years previously. Since her disappearance, Emrys's life has fallen apart. His wife Carys has left him and he's distanced himself from his friends.

But when he receives a series of text message on his mobile phone in the early hours of the morning, his instincts kick in as he follows the directions given to him, hoping that in one way or another they will lead him to his daughter. He is eventually led from a quiet village in Arfon to one of the most romantic cities in Europe, but does the winding path lead him to his daughter or is it all just a cruel game?

"I had the idea for the novel after I myself thought that I'd received a text message at three o'clock in the morning when I was home alone. I thought, what if someone had sent me a message to scare me?" explains Cefin Roberts, who shares his time between his home in Bangor and Carmarthen. "I started to play mind games with myself and thought about what would frighten me.

"So, to some extent, the novel is about what happened next in my imagination as an author. What would make me get out of bed and open the door in the middle of the night, when you hear on the news about people being stabbed for doing such a thing!" said Cefin, who's also the Director of the National Theatre and co-founder of Ysgol Glanaethwy along with his wife, Rhian.

The guilt, longing and hope that these series of cryptic clues will lead Emrys to his daughter guides him to a number of dubious places and frightening situations. As we move from one location to the next, we are also taken on an emotional journey with Emrys as he struggles to find the truth. On this journey we also encounter a number of other stories, all weaved together into one. Secrets are revealed, mysteries are solved and riddles are unravelled, each one urging the reader to turn over each page.

"I've tried to include a mythical feel to the novel. The story has a touch of the Mabinogion to it, although Cymer y Seren is very much a novel about today, as I've tried to weave the Mabinogion way of storytelling with my style," explains the author who's busy working on a collection of poems for his first grandchild, due to be born in a couple of weeks.

He added, "To be honest, I don't think of writing as work. I find it quite relaxing. It's like a having a friend. Some people like to knit to relax; all I do is weave and knit words, and I enjoy doing it."
Publisher: Gwasg Gwynedd