A Trick of the Light

By Ellie Thomas

Kenneth Taylor has bright plans for a future as an engineer. In the summer of 1957, as soon as he returns home to Bristol from two years of National Service in the Royal Signals, a furious row with his dad means he’s thrown out of the house, and his prospects are in jeopardy.

He finds lodgings in the hilltop, bomb-damaged suburb of Kingsdown, determined to be independent and juggling night school with his humdrum day job. He soon meets Gino, the good-looking son of a local café owner and is thrilled when the attraction proves to be mutual. As their romance blooms, Kenneth finds unexpected encouragement from an apparition in the mirror who inhabited the house in the late 18th century.

When the ghostly vision of Kit also appears to Kenneth in his dreams, it seems they have much in common when Kit reveals his dilemma at a similar age, concerning his growing attachment to a young man, Ned. Past and present intermingle as Kenneth faces parallel and difficult decisions. But can he trust Kit? Or is it all merely a trick of the light?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Oct 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685502911

Book preview

A Trick of the Light

By Ellie Thomas

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2022 Ellie Thomas

ISBN 9781685502911

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

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This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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A Trick of the Light

By Ellie Thomas

Chapter 1

Kingsdown, Bristol, 1957

It’s two pounds a week, take it or leave it. I’ve got plenty of other folk waiting in line who’d be glad to snap up this place, said the middle-aged man, hitching up his belt over his substantial belly.

Kenneth doubted the statement held any truth, but he was running out of options. After chasing after lodgings in more desirable areas, already rented by the time he knocked at the door, in his increasing desperation, this rundown, bomb-damaged central suburb of the city seemed a good bet to find somewhere to live in a hurry.

Ignoring the landlord standing in the doorway, impatiently drumming his nicotine-stained fingernails against the door frame, Kenneth took his time to look around the second-floor room, chilly even on an August day. It was bound to be an ice box in winter. Despite the draught coming through the narrow rectangular panes of both windows, the paint in their frames badly flaked, and the damp stain in the top far corner, starting to creep ominously over the ceiling, it was a square, spacious expanse, probably a luxurious bedroom when the house was newly built.

Mind you, that was nearly two hundred years ago, Kenneth thought. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers.

I’ll take it, he said. Can I move in straight away?

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Judith insisted on getting the bus with Kenneth when, after handing over the required rent, he had returned to her family home in Eastville to collect his few bags. He could have easily carried his essential belongings without any assistance, but he was grateful for her company.

Staying at Judith’s, even for a couple of nights, had been awkward, despite her parents’ acceptance. After all, their only daughter and Kenneth had been best friends since they were toddlers, and Mr. and Mrs. Price were used to treating him almost as one of their own.

But as the Prices lived only a street away from his parental home, Kenneth wanted to move on quickly before his dad found out he was staying there. Kenneth dreaded the idea of his dad marching around the block to shout at him on the