Troy is the child of divorced parents, living with his mother - but caught in the war between his parents for custody. His father arranges for them to run away. The car crashes and his father is killed.
Troy, surviving, cannot - will not - believe it, blames both himself and his mother, and will have nothing to do with her. Recuperating with family friends who run a small village shop, he experiences hallucinatory images of himself in the Beowulf legend, a story he shared with his father. As Troy's modern-day story - his loss of memory, his estrangement and fear of his own mother - interweaves with the vanquishing of the hell-hag and later the dragon by himself and Beowulf, standing shoulder to shoulder, Troy finally becomes reconciled to the death of his father.
Maggie Pearson has worked as a librarian, bar-maid, au pair and freelance journalist, but mostly as a mother. Her first novel, OWL LIGHT, was a WH Smith Mind Boggling Book. Now that her three sons are grown up, Maggie writes full time.
SHADOW OF THE BEAST ... A narrative built on layers of dreams and memories ... the merging of an ordinary, fallible man with the legendary hero is moving. A well placed story with a satisfying ending.
Armadillo
DARK OF THE MOON: 'Maggie Pearson is rapidly becoming one of our finest writers of fantasy.'
The School Librarian
OWL LIGHT
'On no account miss this fast-paced, literate comedy thriller. More Please. Soon.'
Jan Mark, Carousel
... a marvellous novel full of action, mystery and wonderful characters . . . Utterly absorbing and never fails to surprise.
The Scotsman
The themes of animal conservation and barbaric traditions like badger-baiting are handled with great sensitivity.
The School Librarian
TES
Absolutely gripping stuff ... Maggie Pearson is a great story-teller.
East Anglian Daily Times