Only a few days until my next book is out, so here’s a second excerpt to give you a hint of the kind of things you can expect:

She was as beautiful as ever in denim shorts, a checked shirt and trainers. A nearly empty shopping basket was on the ground beside her. She looked up at me and beamed and I couldn’t help but beam back.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Then I remembered Kathy was beside me.

“You all know each other?” she asked with a tilt of the head. It wasn’t surprising that I should bump into someone I knew, but it was unusual for Samuel to recognise someone that Kathy didn’t know. I rushed to explain.

“This is Alison. And this is Kathy. My wife.” I paused. “Alison’s the… one I told you about, that I work with… who lives nearby. We bumped into her on a walk so she met Samuel.”

Alison stood and held a hand out for Kathy.

“Very pleased to meet you at last,” Alison said.

“You too,” Kathy replied, “Philip told me he gave someone a lift to work most days. I guess it’s you.” Kathy looked at me suspiciously, but what was I to have done? Tell her just how young and pretty and full of life Alison was?

“It is me,” Alison said as she almost bounced on the spot. “We’ve been working together a lot and Philip’s been so much help to me.”

“I’ll bet he has.”

I didn’t like where the conversation was going.

“But what are you doing here, Alison? You don’t have a garden?” I asked, hurriedly changing the subject

“Oh! Very exciting news! I’ve been given that allotment. It’s already mine and I get the keys to the gate this week. I went down there first thing and there’s so much I need to do!”

“That’s great news.” I turned to Kathy. “Alison’s a keen gardener, apparently, but lives up on the third floor of a block.”

“You could have come and sorted our garden out,” Kathy said, “It’s hard enough to get Philip to put his mind to it.”

“I would have done! If Philip had invited me.”

An image of Alison kneeling in our back garden, weeding away in nothing but a pair of wellington boots, had already crossed my mind.

The Naked Girl I Met In The Woods will be listed on my Amazon page as soon as it’s out.