BOOK REVIEW: By Your Side by Ruth Jones

Shane | 11 July 2025 | Reply

BOOK REVIEW: By Your Side by Ruth Jones
Penguin Random House, 20 May 2025
Paperback, $34.99
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
83%

Fans of Ruth Jones’ sitcoms Gavin & Stacey and Stella will find much to enjoy in her latest novel, By Your Side. The humour is not as much to the forefront, though, taking a half step back in order to allow the emotional drama pride of place – and what a double drama it is!

Linda works for the Glasgow council’s Unclaimed Heirs Unit – I have not one clue if this is a real thing or invented for the story, but it seems legit – being tasked with finding living heirs in the case of somebody dying without leaving a will or having close family to look after their final affairs.

When Levi Norman passes away on a remote Scottish island Linda is brought in and quickly finds evidence leading her to believe Levi had a daughter. As she takes care of the necessary arrangements, she not only tries to track down Rachel, but falls for local rough n’ tumble bar owner Brodie, who politely falls for her in return.

What led Levi to the island and his last years spent in virtual solitude is the meat of the story here, and Jones writes with such humanity and heart that we can’t help but become engrossed in how he met his wife Diana and her daughter Rachel – and how he lost them.

To say more would be to spoil the tragedy and surprise, so let it be noted, simply, that By Your Side is an excellent piece of storytelling.