I would give this 6 stars of I could! I am such a fan of Ruth Jones' writing, I didn't want this to end. The story has so many layers and different characters that are just wonderful to get to know. The things we do for love.

Wow!! The premise of this book seemed a little odd, a middle aged woman who worked for the council. How wrong was I? What Ruth Jones is so good at, is taking normal lives and making them special. And real. And she makes you want to cheer for them as you can see bits of yourself or your loved ones, in her words.
Linda is taking early retirement and is sad that her son and grandson are moving away. She has one last project to find out about a man who has died on a remote Scottish island. She meets some characters along the way and the story is also set in flashback to the man and his own backstory. We follow Levi through a series of life changing moments and the consequences of those.
I have read all of Ruth’s novels and have loved them all. This is the best in my opinion as she deals with the subjects so carefully and with such thought and candour.
I highly recommend this book, it’s one to devour in one sitting and tell your friends about. Another triumph from the brilliant Ruth Jones.

Full of great love with a beating heart.

Oh my gosh such a good book and so well written.

Lots of great character insights and a great read all round.

Heartily recommend!

Such a heart-warming, life-affirming , beautifully written book with a cast of characters you fall in love with. I love the warmth Ruth Jones creates through her writing but I think this book is her best to date.
Linda has one last case to work on before retiring from her job in the unclaimed heirs department of her local council. Along with Fergus, a local undertaker, she travels to a remote Scottish island to try and look for clues to help her track down any family members of a recently deceased Welshman, Levi Norman . With the help of the local community Linda starts to learn more about Levi and eventually pieces together the mystery of why he ended up on a remote Scottish island estranged from his family. The impact of the case on Linda's own life is significant and transformative in the most powerful of ways.
Tender, warm, tragic and funny in equal measure - this highly recommended book is certain to stay with you long after it is finished.
I am grateful to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC of this wonderful book.

Linda has the unenviable job of investigating the lives of people who have died isolated with no trace of living relatives.

With her retirement just around the corner, she is tasked with one final case , that of Levi Jones who lived on a remote Scottish Island ,

Linda travels with Fergus the undertaker assigned to the case, where they both immerse themselves in the local tight knit community.

The book has a dual timeline, the present and the past. Levi as a young man, in love and with a small child does not correspond to his fate later in life.

Secrets, lies and guilt all have left a lasting legacy of damage to Levi,. Mistakes are part of life, but how we deal with them can change the course of our lives and this is beautifully explored. Leaving things unsaid until it may be too late is another difficult issue and one we all need to be reminded of.

Brimming with wonderful relatable characters this novel had me filled with emotion, It also made me thankful for my family, friends and community.

Ruth Jones has such a great understanding of human nature and this is evident on every page of this book. I really didn’t want this book to end ,

I was so excited to read this as I’ve loved all of Ruth Jones other books. Oh my goodness, it certainly didn’t disappoint. What an amazing book! It was a real delight to read it and I enjoyed every page. It’s gorgeous and despite finishing it last week, it’s definitely stuck with me.
It’s more than worthy of 5 big fat stars and I’ll be recommending to everyone.

Loved this! I have read Ruth Jones other books so was super excited to get this one and the warmth of the characters and although an obvious conclusion it was a perfect afternoon read

This is a highly unusual but beautiful story which starts with Linda who is encouraged to take early retirement from the job she has been doing for the last thirty years -working for the local council trying to find missing heirs of the recently deceased. One of her last cases take her to a quiet Scottish isle to try to find the heir of Levi and in doing so we are treated to the story of his life and the decision he made that haunted him. There’s a lot of bittersweetness to this story as well as the humour you would expect from Ruth Jones, there’s a lot of depth to Levi’s story and Linda is a gorgeous lively character at a cross point in her life. I read this in under two days and much as I enjoyed reading about Linda for me Levi was an incredible character and the end of his life quietly devastating. This has its heart rending moments but overall is a wonderful uplifting read and beautifully written.

Linda Standish has worked for her local council in many roles, latterly in the unclaimed heirs unit. She is taking redundancy and her last case is to find the heir of Levi Jones, a Welshman who moved 5 years ago to a remote Scottish island, the Isle of Storrich. She has to travel by hearse with one of the undertakers, Fergus Murray, who she sued to go to school with.. She would rather go with anyone rather than Fergus, especially as they will have to stay in a pub for a few days while they sort through Levi’s house and papers before taking the body home to Boransay for cremation on the mainland.
Linda is also reluctant to go as far at the moment as her son, Struan, and grandson Xander are living with her. They are shortly due to move an hour away to be near Struan’s ex wife.
It was a lovely book and emotional to read Levi’s story and how he died, seemingly, with no heirs, and follow Linda as she discovered the truth about Levi and changed her life for the better as well.

This was absolutely beautiful. I was gripped from start to finish by every single character in this story. Linda, Brodie, Diana, Levi to name but a few- they all had such depth and felt like totally real people.
I hugely admired Linda- I hope I’m as fearless and fiery when I’m her age and the story behind Levi and Rachael was so heart breaking. I obviously don’t want to give anything away but please do read this- the only thing you’ll regret is finishing it too quickly!

I absolutely loved this new book from Ruth Jones, so well written and such a great story. The storytelling is superb and with a fabulous cast of characters , particularly the residents of Storrich . Highly recommended.

Fiftysomething Linda Standish, employee of (fictional) Boransay Council in Scotland, spends her working days dealing with the affairs and trying to track down the heirs of people who've died without any apparent relatives or friends.

Her latest case is that of Levi Norman, a reclusive elderly man who has lived for some years on the island of Storrich without making any significant connections. Linda soon finds, though, that there has been much more to Levi's life than meets the eye, and we see this first hand with flashbacks to his earlier life.

The story of Levi, Diana and Rachel, as it emerges, is undeniably sad, and it's hard to say this is a feelgood read - Linda, too, has tragedy in her past and issues in her present. Nevertheless, it's engaging and well written - I really felt for Levi. There's also an engagingly unexpected romance in the air for Linda.

I do love Ruth Jones as a writer, and By Your Side is another excellent read.

What an absolutely beautiful read, a heartbreaking heartwarming story, I loved the charecters, they were easy to get to know and love, again Ruth hasn't let me down, loved every page

This is easily my favourite Ruth Jones novel so far. Wonderful, relatable characters and a main protagonist who you can really root for. I was sorry when it reached the end. Please someone make a film adaptation of this with Ms Jones starring as Linda. Five stars.

I loved every single page of this book by Ruth Jones. It is beautifully written and very poignant but also light and never maudlin or sugary. The characters were real and likeable. Ruth has an unerring touch ,describing people, showing the vulnerable , fun, self conscious and tough side to Linda. Read this book it is just brilliant. Would make a great TV drama .
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to review .

Don’t you just want to grab this, switch off the phone and curl up on the sofa
By far one of my favourite books I've read this month… I loved every minute… I laughed out loud so many times!!… Wonderful storytelling.

Linda, divorced, min-50s, fat, is facing life's upheavals. Her son and little grandson are moving away, and she's being made redundant from her job tracking down lost heirs to people who have sadly died alone and seemingly unloved. Her final case takes her to a Hebridean island where reclusive Levi has died. In tracking down his family, Linda uncovers a tragic story of love, loss and estrangement. Meanwhile, Levi's case offers her opportunities to forge ahead with her new life - if only she can find the courage to grasp them.
This was a lovely story, warm and compassionate, with gorgeous empathetic characters at its core. The narrative switches between Linda, Levi and his loved ones, so we get to know all the ins and outs of their tangled lives.
Linda is the stand-out star. She is kind, caring, funny, self-depracting and vulnerable, and above all driven by a strong sense of justive and an innate warm humanity. Her love interest, a kind, calm, sexy Highlander, comes a close scond to Linda in my list of favourites, but all the people in this story have plenty to offer in creating a narrative that is humorous, relatable and overall heart-warming.
IRuth Jones is amazingly talented at breathing life into her characters, but this book offers something further, For interestingly, in Linda, I think we also get a glimpse of how Ruth Jones sees herself.
Anyone who thinks she's Nessa will think again after reading this lovely story.

Another cracking standalone book from Ruth Jones. Two families’ tales of love and loss. Beautiful characters you can’t help falling in love with yourself. A little slow in the middle but worth persevering with.

Wow what a beautiful read again by Ruth Jones. I absolutely loved this book and read it in two sittings. When Linda who works for the council's unclaimed heirs tracking down people who have died alone she takes on one last case before retirement and it's a gentleman named Levi Norman Jones and as she uncovers details of his life it's such an interesting and poignant story and beautifully written with sensitivity, humour and friendships that will hold your interest right to the end and I found it very emotional .I think this is a fantastic read and think it's her best one yet. Highly recommend it

Omg amazing. Ruth Jones is so skilled in drawing you in. Linda is a Heir Hunter whose job is to go to the homes of recently deceased and search for clues to see if she can unearth family. There are two stories within this book…The story of Linda and her life; and also the story of Levi; who passed away with no family and Linda unearths his secrets. I loved this book; devoured it in two days; couldn’t wait to finish it but now I’m sad it’s done….