Having received great interest and positive feedback from the readers of her first two books, Relatively Distant and Neighbourhood Watch, Gemma was encouraged by the appetite of her readers for a third book. With this in mind, she embarked on the final instalment of what she now refers to as ‘The Emma Series’. As with the two previous books, Staying Relevant is the final book of a trilogy, but is also a standalone book, with its own story to tell. Again, her home county is all the inspiration needed for the location of Staying Relevant. Waterport resonates with most people that live in a close-knit community, that sometimes feels like everybody knows each other.
Neighbourhood Watch is based on family dynamics and lifelong repercussions of decisions and actions made in youthful haste. Self-preservation and maintaining a good public image are strong motives throughout the book. Such incentives can lead even the most upstanding people to deception and reveal a darker side, if only to themselves.
Although the main characters differ greatly, they are all linked by events from the past. Neighbourhood Watch explores the danger of putting misplaced trust into institutions or their representatives, for this trust can be manipulated and used to the advantage of those it is placed in. Within the story, there is a heavy focus on the humanity of people and how they deal with a set of circumstances they may have no control over. There is an underlying current that is deconstructed – that a confident woman is seen as almost arrogant and untrustworthy, and is not to be given the benefit of the doubt.
Relatively Distant takes us on a journey that is peppered with typical life experiences, but in unusual and challenging circumstances. The story begins in the early seventies and brings us up to recent times. The main story is centred around a family of four, and is told at different stages from their individual viewpoints. As the younger characters mature, so does the underlying theme and the story becomes more serious and dark. Sibling rivalry is at its core, but there is an underlying history that doesn’t fully reveal itself until the end.
Although the book tackles some of life’s difficulties, it is sprinkled throughout with humour that helps to balance the atmosphere. The eternal question of ‘nature or nurture’ is posed as the main characters develop and their personalities become apparent. Relatively Distant is best described as a family tragedy, wrapped up in a love story and ending in a mystery discovered.
As world events take over in a way that nobody thought possible, paranoia becomes part of everyday life. The insidious feeling of being watched creeps over the community of Waterport, with locals ever mindful of ‘what would the neighbours think?’
As people handle the changes in different ways, some grow stronger and more resilient, but others feel the loss of control over their own lives overwhelming. Cracks begin to show, and a cold eye is cast on how well the characters were really connected to each other. Feelings become visceral and raw in the face of loneliness, and questions are asked about their own sense of worth and their place in the community.
Some struggle more than others, and a years-old secret begins to haunt in a very real way one of the main characters and threaten what’s left of their already tattered reputation. Having already lost their good standing in the community – there is not much left to lose, and that is when we humans are at our most dangerous.
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