Being Light

Roy Travers is swept away by a freak gust of wind while trying to install a bouncy castle in Brockwell Park, south London. Sheila, his wife, can’t understand why he hasn’t found his way back home. She begins to suspect that Roy has been abducted by aliens and enlists the help of Mrs Fitzgerald’s Bureau of Investigation to find him. Sheila travels to Kent with Alison, a private detective. Together they build a missing persons advertisement out of pebbles on a beach, hoping it will be seen by the aliens who have taken Roy. But Roy was not taken by aliens. The truth is far stranger. 'Smith has a keen eye for material details, but her prose is lucid and uncluttered by heavy description. Imagine a satire on Cool Britannia made by the Coen Brothers... very funny.' Times Literary Supplement Quirky and funny, Helen Smiths humorous literary novel follows the adventures of private detective Alison Temple and her boss Mrs. Fitzgerald at an all-female detective agency in London. When her husband doesnt come home, Sheila Travers hires a private detective to find him. But Being Light is no ordinary detective story. The sharp observations on the lives of modern women will have you laughing out loud as you follow the surreal adventures of the ensemble cast. Meet Taron, with her one-woman plan to improve the world. Meet Mrs. Fitzgerald, the boss of the all-female Fitzgeralds Bureau of Investigation in Brixton, as she struggles to overcome fanciful thoughts on the 159 bus. Meet Alison, juggling the demands of looking after a young child with her duties as a detective. Take in circus performers, animal rights activists, philosophers, dreamers, and a new kind of dating agency in this joyfully funny book. And find out what happened to Roy. Awards and accolades for Being Light Chosen as a Best Book of the Year in The Independent Newspaper (UK) Chosen as a Best Book of the Year by The New Podler Review of Books Nominated for a Readers' Choice Award