It transported me to 1950s Brighton, to its pebbly beaches and to a time when homosexuality was seen as something deeply shameful. This is such a special and evocative book. It throws us slap bang into the action, and Marion’s slow, meandering memories make way for Patrick’s life which has been led to its fullest. Contrasting Marion’s life with Patrick’s memories is a clever and powerful narrative device, heightening the emotions for all three characters. Of course, all is not as it seems and we discover the truth behind Tom’s relationship with Patrick when the narrative shifts to Patrick’s diary entries. He takes Marion and Tom to the theatre and to restaurants for meals and Marion, whose life thus far has been quite staid is catapulted into a life of glamour. When he introduces her to the older and debonair Patrick she is impressed, he is knowledgeable and a real grown up and shows her a life previously hidden from her traditional and small upbringing. When he shows an interest in her she is both flattered and thrilled and they forge a friendship and begin to spend time together. Through her letter we discover that teenage Marion had had a crush on Tom for some time, he was her best friend’s older brother and she had admired him from afar and spent many hours day dreaming about him. Patrick has had a catastrophic stroke and has come to live with Marion and Tom and it is this event which encourages to write down her memories, thoughts and feelings.

The book opens in the present day, with Marion writing a letter about Tom, her relationship with him and by extension her relationship with Patrick.

Set in both 1950s Brighton and the (almost) present day, this book examines what happens when a gay man is unable to be open about his sexuality, choosing instead to marry a woman to maintain a veneer of respectability.

Tom, Patrick and Marion meet in 1950s Brighton and their lives collide with irreversible and terrible consequences. My Policeman by Bethan Roberts is a pretty wonderful and heart-wrenching tale of a love triangle between three people.

My policeman book near me