Title: The Wood Cutter
Author: Hill, Reginald
Published by: Harper
Year: 2011
First published: Harper Collins, 2010
Date reviewed: 09.15
ISBN: 978 0 00 734390 4

The Woodcutter of the title is the central figure in this story of a boy, the son of an estate forester in the Lake District, who grows up in the hills and is a natural and self-taught rock climber. After a mysterious absence in his late teens he returns to his father’s home as a successful financier and marries the daughter of the local wealthy estate owners.

His world falls apart when he is arrested, convicted and imprisoned on false evidence for fraud and child pornography offences. The rest of the story tells how he eventually extricates himself from his situation and sets out to discover who framed him and why, and to deliver his own form of justice.

The Woodcutter is a long book but interest never flags. Some of the plot developments perhaps stretch credibility a bit too far, but the whole story is intriguing and overall the book is a good and enjoyable read.